Friday, September 15 2006 11:07 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: US President George W Bush will meet his Pakistani counterpart Pervez Musharraf on September 22 when the latter travels to the US to attend the UN General Assembly session, the White House announced yesterday (Sept 14, 2006).

"The two leaders will review developments across the spectrum of our bilateral strategic partnership, including progress in cooperation in energy, education, science and technology, economic development, counter-terrorism and advancing freedom and democracy," the White House Press Secretary said in a statement.

The last meeting between the two leaders took place during Bush's visit to Pakistan in March this year.In Islamabad, Pakistan Foreign Office said in a statement that Musharraf will tour the US from September 16 to 27.

The Pakistani President will be visiting America after meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh this weekend on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in Havana.

"On Monday, while departing for Belgium, the first leg of his three-nation tour, Musharraf said Bush had invited him and Afghan President Hamid Karzai for an Iftaar party at the White House. The party has its own significance, he had told reporters in Islamabad.

Claiming that Pakistan and Afghanistan had 'resolved' their misunderstandings during his recent visit to Kabul, he said, "But may be we consolidate that further while we meet again with President Bush so that in the future we have a concerted strategy and we trust each other in our fight against terrorism and extremism."

Musharraf's US visit comes amid criticism in America and Afghanistan over his government's peace deal with pro-Taliban militants in tribal area along Pak-Afghan border.