Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks during a joint press conference with Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is en route to Afghanistan, following a visit to Islamabad, Pakistan, where she had a series of high-level meetings with military and government officials, NPR's Jackie Northam reports.
In Kabul, she will attend an international conference, co-chaired by Hamid Karzai, the president of Afghanistan, and Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, with as many as 70 international representatives and 40 foreign ministers.
According to the Los Angeles Times, despite elevated security, a suicide bomber killed at least three Afghans in Macroyan, a district in Kabul, over the weekend.
In Pakistan, Clinton announced a sweeping series of U.S.-funded projects, worth about $500 million, including hydro-electric dams, building new medical clinics, and drip-irrigation programs.
"One of the main aims of Clinton's visit is to continue a long process of trying to convince the Pakistani government, military, and public that the U.S. has a long-term commitment to their country and the region," Northam explains.
At a news conference in Islamabad, Clinton acknowledged the lack of trust between the two countries:
"We know that there is some questioning, even suspicion, about what the United States is doing today, and I can only respond by saying that very clearly we have a commitment that is much broader and deeper than it has been," she said.
UPDATE at 11:19 a.m. ET: The Associated Press reports that, before Clinton landed in Kabul, she said the conference "is going to show more Afghan ownership and leadership, which is something we've been pushing."
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