Masahiko Komura
Asia tour
Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura visits Singapore to attend the ASEAN foreign ministers meeting. He is expected to ask for support on the issue of abduction of Japanese nationals by North Korean agents. He then visits Vietnam to co-chair the Japan-Vietnam cooperation committee meeting (Japanese news agency Kyodo).
Condolezza Rice
South Pacific trip
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits New Zealand for talks with Prime Minister Helen Clark and Foreign Minister Winston Peters. New Zealand's military contribution to conflict in Afghanistan is among the issues expected to be discussed. Rice and Peters will then head to the Pacific Islands Forum foreign ministers meeting in Samoa (TVNZ website).
Yusaf Raza Gillani
Security talks
Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gillani meets President George W. Bush in Washington. They are expected to discuss efforts against Islamic militants along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border (Pakistani news agency APP).
Shah Mehmood Qureshi
UK-Pakistan relations
Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi visits the United Kingdom for a meeting with Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Foreign Secretary David Miliband. Talks are expected to focus on bilateral relations, Afghanistan, counterterrorism and the India-Pakistan dialogue. (Pakistan's official news agency APP).
Hugo Chavez
Making up?
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez visits Spain to meet King Juan Carlos I. This is the first meeting between the two since Juan Carlos told Chavez to "shut up" at the Ibero-American summit in November 2007. Chavez has said he is ready to give the king a "hug" but will "not shut up" himself. He also meets Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero (Spanish newspaper El Pais).
Thabo Mbeki
South Africa Summit
EU-South Africa summit takes place in Bordeaux, France. President Thabo Mbeki will attend (EU website; South African news agency SAPA).
Joint Defence Council
Sudan visit
Sudan's Joint Defence Council meets in the Sudanese capital Khartoum. Council members leave for a visit to Abyei, where northern and southern Sudanese soldiers clashed in May (Sudanese Media Centre).
Gabi Ashkenazi
Israel-Iran relations
Israeli IDF Chief of General Staff Lt-Gen Gabi Ashkenazi visits the United States for a week of talks focusing on Iran. He meets senior defence and intelligence officials as well as Vice-President Dick Cheney and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley (The Jerusalem Post).
Tzipi Livni
Peace talks
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meets Palestinian negotiators Sa'ib Urayqat, Ahmad Quray and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to discuss peace negotiations in Washington (Palestinian newspaper Al-Ayyam).
