BERLIN, Oct 24: German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier will visit Pakistan next week for talks expected to focus on the conflict in Afghanistan and the financial crisis, the German government said on Friday.

Steinmeier will meet President Asif Ali Zardari and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Islamabad, foreign ministry spokesman Andreas Peschke said at a news conference.

Steinmeier, set to challenge Angela Merkel for the chancellorship next September, will also visit Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Peschke said.

On Monday, two German troops were killed by a suicide bombing in northern Afghanistan, bringing to 30 the number of German troops and police killed in the country since their mission began in 2001.

—AFP