TOKYO, Feb 2: Japan is inviting key nations to a conference to drum up aid to stabilise Pakistan in what it hopes would be one of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s first foreign trips, a senior official said on Monday.

Japan is eager to build ties with President Barack Obama’s administration, which has vowed to focus on fighting extremism in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s precarious financial situation has caused worldwide alarm due to its role as a key ally in the US-led “war on terror” and its position as the Muslim world’s only nuclear power.

The Nikkei business newspaper said Japan was inviting more than 10 countries to the meeting in late March or early April in Tokyo and that it would drum up billions of dollars in aid pledges.

“The Japanese government has this in mind. But its schedule and other details are not yet decided,” government spokesman Jun Matsumoto, the deputy chief cabinet secretary, told a news conference.

“The stability of Pakistan, which borders Afghanistan, is extremely important as it would work against terrorism and eventually for the peace and stability of the international community,” he said.

Asked if Ms Clinton would attend the conference, he said: “Naturally, that is one of our assumptions.”

A Pakistani diplomat in Tokyo said the conference would bring together countries in the so-called “Friends of Pakistan” -- a group formed last year to help consolidate democracy in the country.

The group comprises 14 countries and organisations, including Britain, China, France and the United States as well as Muslim nations such as Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

“If all goes well, then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will come,” said Iftikhar Babar, the head of Pakistan Embassy’s economic division.

“The main focus -- as so many vital development projects are there -- is to seek some budget-related assistance,” Mr Babar told AFP.

He said that a date for the conference could be finalised during a visit to Tokyo this week by Prime Minister’s Adviser on Finance Shaukat Tarin, who will also be discussing a recent International Monetary Fund package for Islamabad.

The IMF in November approved a credit line of $7.6 billion for Pakistan over 23 months, the Fund’s first rescue in Asia since the global financial crisis began.

But experts estimate more than a billion dollars in additional funding is needed to stabilise Pakistan’s economy.

Ms Clinton is expected separately to visit Japan, South Korea and China this month, a foreign ministry spokeswoman said in Seoul.—AFP