The new German special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Bernd Muetzelburg, is expected in Washington for initial discussions ahead of his first trip to the crisis region next week, the German Foreign Ministry confirmed Wednesday, according to dpa. The former ambassador to India, who was nominated Monday as a special Foreign Office envoy, will meet his US counterpart Richard Holbrooke to discuss international strategy issues. During his trip to the US he also plans to visit the UN headquarters in New York. Following these meetings, Muetzelburg is expected to travel to Afghanistan and Pakistan next week, to see for himself the situation on the ground. Germany has the third largest troop deployment under the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. In addition to the 3,000 troops stationed in the region, NATO diplomats announced Monday that Berlin was to send another 600 troops to Afghanistan, to provide additional safety ahead of the August presidential elections. German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung is expected to present Berlin's plans for the deployment during a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Krakow on Thursday.
