"Alice Wells, Acting Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, and W. Patrick Murphy, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, will travel to Brussels June 18 to meet with counterparts from the European Union, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy. The participants will discuss issues of mutual interest, including the United States’ enduring role in promoting security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as in Afghanistan," the release said on Friday.

US envoy for Afghan reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad, who has led talks with the Taliban, has spent days in Afghanistan meeting politicians, civil society and women rights activists.

The Department of Defense has released a new Indo-Pacific Strategy Report outlining the US military's plans to check malign influences in the region via a combination of military tools and a web of alliances.