Italy's proposal to involve Iran in the stabilisation of Afghanistan will top the agenda when Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini meets United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the first time Friday.
Frattini will confer with President Barack Obama's Afghanistan envoy Richard Holbrooke Thursday before meeting National Security Advisor James Jones, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, with whom he recently spoke in Rome, and the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Europe, Robert Wexler.
On Thursday evening Frattini will dine at the residence of Italian Ambassador Gianni Castellaneta with, among others, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and John Podesta, the head of Obama's transition team.
The meeting with Clinton will take place on Friday morning, when the two diplomatic chiefs will assess Italy's idea of inviting Iran to a conference in Italy on stabilising Afghanistan at the end of June in Trieste.
Straight afterwards Frattini will outline Italy's agenda for its Group of Eight presidency at the Brookings Institute.
He flies back to Italy Saturday morning.
