(Communicated by the Foreign Minister's Bureau)
Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Tzipi Livni will leave tonight (9 March) for the United States. In Washington, FM Livni will meet with Vice President Cheney, Secretary of State Rice, National Security Advisor Steve Hadley, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. FM Livni will also brief the Foreign Relations Committee of the American Congress. The meetings will focus on counterterrorism, the situation in the Gaza Strip, the diplomatic process, Iran, and other regional issues.
From Washington, FM Livni will go to Boston, Massachusetts, where she will be the guest of honor at a special session of the State House of Representatives. She will address the delegates on the occasion of Israel's 60th birthday. She will also be the main speaker at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, on the topic, "Challenges and Opportunities in the Middle East."