Mattis traveling to North Africa, Middle East, Pakistan

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is traveling abroad again, with stops in North Africa, the Middle East and Pakistan on his agenda over the next few days.

Mattis will first stop in Egypt Dec. 2 to meet with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Minister of Defense Sedki Sobhy, according to a Pentagon statement. He will then travel to Jordan to take part in the "Aqaba Process," which is "a meeting on countering violent extremism in West Africa" hosted by King Abdullah II of Jordan on Dec. 3, the statement continues.

On Dec. 4, Mattis will travel to Pakistan to meet with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and the Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa. President Trump has made pressuring Pakistan to deny extremist groups safe haven a key part of his new strategy for the war in Afghanistan.

The last stop on the trip is Kuwait, where Mattis will meet with Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber al-Sabah and other Kuwaiti leaders on Dec. 5, according to the Pentagon.