ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif departed for a three-day tour of the United States on Tuesday morning, the minister is expected to meet United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to continue bilateral dialogue and reach a consensus on how to ease the air of tension that surfaced after US President Donald Trump’s August 21 speech. Khawaja Asif is scheduled to address a gathering at the US institute of Peace (USIP) in Washington regarding Pak-US ties on October 5, the institute confirmed in a statement. In the first high profile meeting between the nations, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi met US Vice President Mike Pence in Washington, where it was suggested that a US delegation be sent to Islamabad to continue talks to ease ties between the two nations. Pakistan, while accepting this proposal stated that a high level meeting be arranged by Washington, in response to which Khawaja Asif was invited for a meeting with Tillerson on October 4.