Washington: US Secretary of State Colin Powell will have "a full agenda", including from bilateral to regional issues for discussions with Indian and Pakistani leaders when he visits the South Asian nations next week.

"It is a full agenda of discussions with India, a full agenda of discussions with Pakistan, starting with bilateral relations and going on to both regional and more local concerns," State department spokesman Richard Boucher said yesterday (Mar 8, 2004).

During the visit starting on March 14, which also takes him to Afghanistan, Powell will be meeting with senior officials and political leaders of the three countries.

Asked whether the visit to India would indicate support for the Atal Bihari Vajpayee led Government when it conducts elections soon, Boucher said, "In a democracy there is always some kind of politics or elections going on. We are not going to take a side in the elections. We are going out to discuss important matters and build on the cooperation we have been able to establish in recent years with the Indian Government."

He said the discussions with India and Pakistan will also include the proliferation issues and on-going fight against terrorism.