In the wake of U.S. President Barack Obama's trip to Canada, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and one of his senior ministers will travel to the United States next week.

Afghanistan will be on the agenda for Harper and Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon on their separate trips to New York and Washington.

Officials on both sides of the border say the visits will focus on development issues in Afghanistan, not combat.

The substance of those discussions was announced Friday as White House officials expressed satisfaction with Canada's stated position that it will end its combat role in 2011.

Obama publicly declared during his visit to Ottawa that he did not press Harper for an extended commitment and the president's officials went even further on Friday.

Two American officials told reporters they wanted to discuss a development role for Canada.

"Prime Minister Harper stressed the fact that this was not open for review. They were going to be there until 2011," said James Steinberg, U.S. deputy secretary of state.

"I think, from the president's point of view, the focus was we're going to focus on the other legs of the stool — on the governance issues, on the development issues, on the political strategy."

He said the new U.S. administration wants to hear Canada's opinions as it conducts a strategic review of its own Afghan operations.

Obama has already said he will send at least 17,000 additional American troops to Afghanistan, as combat intensifies and winds down in Iraq.

Harper to meet with Ban Ki Moon

The prime minister will head to New York on Monday for a pair of meetings.

The first — with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon — will focus on global security and on Afghanistan.

A Canadian official, citing security concerns, declined to say whether the recent abduction in Niger of Robert Fowler, a Canadian who is now a UN special envoy, would also be discussed.

Harper has also scheduled a round-table meeting with business leaders. The global financial crisis is likely to be the top item there.

On Tuesday, Cannon will visit Washington for a meeting with his American counterpart, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

American and Canadian officials said the two will talk about Afghanistan and the ongoing U.S. strategic review.

"The prime minister and president set out an agenda yesterday," said a Cannon spokesperson. "Minister Cannon and Secretary Clinton are immediately engaging to deliver on this agenda."