NEW DELHI, March 14 (Xinhuanet) -- US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who is seen as the initiator of the pro-India policies of the Bush administration will arrive here Tuesday for aless than 24-hour visit, according to Indo-Asian News Service.

    Rice is on a six-nation Asian tour to Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Japan and South Korea. She will hold talks with Indian External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh and call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh before leaving for Pakistan Wednesday evening.

    Officials said Rice and Natwar Singh will review the progress of the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership (NSSP) the two countries initiated last year.

    The two sides will discuss steps to facilitate US sale of dual use technology that has both civilian and military applications, bilateral relations, economic ties and the situation concerning Pakistan, Nepal, Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran.

    Rice is expected to seek India's views of the neighborhood, andbrief New Delhi about US-Europe relations.

    "But given the nature of the visit, no substantive outcome should be expected. This is more like a conventional visit for new US secretaries of state after assuming office," a senior official said.

    Despite opposition from Powell's State Department, Rice, then National Security Adviser to Bush, is said to have strongly pushed for initiating the NSSP with India. Enditem