President George W. Bush has scheduled meetings with several world leaders and international groups this week as he attends his final U.N. General Assembly as U.S. president. In addition to giving his speech to the General Assembly on Tuesday, Bush will hold his first face-to-face meeting with new Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, days after a bomb blast at a hotel in Islamabad killed at least 60 people and wounded 260. The White House said Monday that the centerpiece of Bush's talks with world leaders would be efforts to reassure them about his $700 billion proposal to help limit damages from the U.S. financial crisis. But the U.S. president also will highlight his strategy for responding to soaring global food prices, meet with political dissidents, and co-host a reception with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani to thank countries that backed the U.S.-led war and reconstruction efforts in Iraq. Bush is scheduled to meet with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to discuss issues including U.N. reform, Georgia, Afghanistan, Sudan, Myanmar, and Zimbabwe, the White House said. On Wednesday, Bush will meet with leaders from the Western Hemisphere to promote free-trade deals. The meetings are part of a campaign to win congressional approval of the trade deals with Panama, Colombia, and South Korea before Bush leaves office at the end of January. In Washington on Thursday, the U.S. president will meet with Lebanese President Michel Sleiman, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. On Friday, Bush will meet with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
