Kai Eide to meet Bush Tuesday

NEW YORK: The UN Special Envoy to Afghanistan would meet the US President, George W Bush, top officials of his administration and key Congressional leaders during his visit to Washington next week.

This is his first official visit to Washington in his capacity as the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Afghanistan after he assumed this position last month. This would also be his first meeting with George Bush in this capacity, wherein he is likely to brief the US President of his assessment of the ground situation in Afghanistan and what all the US-led international coalition could do to help the United Nations and UNAMA achieve durable peace and stability in Afghanistan.

Confirming the visit, the White House spokesperson Dana Perino told correspondents that Bush would be meeting Eide on Tuesday on April 29.

Besides meeting Bush and top officials of his Administration in the State Department and the Department of Defense, Eide is also scheduled to address a special meeting of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a prestigious think-tank body. Eide would speak on challenges being faced by Afghanistan today. Eide will address the challenges faced by international assistance efforts in the country and his future role as head of the assistance mission in Afghanistan.

His Washington visit is being seen in the backdrop of the recent NATO Summit in Bucharest wherein the countries pledged additional development and military support to Afghanistan. A major donor’s conference in June in Paris is also schedule which will focus on security and governance in Afghanistan.

Appointed by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon under an expanded UNAMA mandate, Eide is expected to improve the coordination of the more than 60 countries providing economic assistance in Afghanistan.