BERLIN German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier will visit Pakistan next week for talks expected to focus on the conflict in Afghanistan and the financial crisis, the German government said on Friday.
Steinmeier will meet President Asif Ali Zardari and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Islamabad, foreign ministry spokesman Andreas Peschke said at a news conference.
After Pakistan Steinmeier, set to challenge Angela Merkel for the chancellorship next September, will visit Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Peschke said.
On Monday two German troops were killed by a suicide bombing in northern Afghanistan, bringing to 30 the number of German troops and police killed in the country since their mission began in 2001.
The German parliament voted last week to increase by 1,000 the number of German troops serving as part of a Nato-led force, for a total of 4,500, and to extend the missions mandate despite it being highly unpopular among voters.
The two soldiers were due to be buried in Germany on Friday.
With economic stabilisation yet to translate into tangible improvement in living standards, the country’s leaders are finding it increasingly difficult to ignore demands for relief.
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