U.S. President George W. Bush will meet later this month with leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan for talks about beefing up cooperation with the two countries in fight against Islamist extremists in the region.

Bush is due to meet Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Sept. 22, and with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Sept. 26, White House spokesman Tony Snow said Thursday in separate statements.

Bush and Musharraf "will review developments across the spectrum of our strategic partnership, including progress in bilateral cooperation in energy, education, science and technology, economic development, counterterrorism, and advancing freedom and democracy," said Snow.

Bush and Karzai "will discuss the need to continue cooperating in areas of mutual interest, including expanding good governance, countering the threat of militant extremists, stemming narco- trafficking, and rebuilding Afghanistan's economy and infrastructure," the spokesman said.

It was reported that Pakistan has some 80,000 troops along the border with Afghanistan to hunt down Taliban militants and al- Qaida fugitives, who were believed to have sneaked into the rugged region after the U.S. ouster of the Taliban regime in late 2001.

Afghanistan, headed by President Hamid Karzai, is also a strong ally of the United States in West Asia.

Source: Xinhua