The U.S. State Department notified UC Davis on Tuesday that Afghan President Hamid Karzai's scheduled visit to California and his Saturday, June 12, activities at UC Davis had been canceled.

Karzai, accompanied by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman, was to participate Saturday in a visit to agricultural fields, a campus luncheon and a public forum that was expected to draw to campus more than 5,000 people including many from the region's Afghan communities.

Karzai's California visit was part of a nationwide trip including a meeting with President Bush and participation in the Group of 8 summit in Georgia this week. Today, he will attend the national funeral for President Ronald Reagan.

Karzai had chosen to come to UC Davis because of ongoing campus partnerships aimed at rebuilding Afghanistan and restoring its agriculture.

"We look forward to continuing and expanding our collaborations, which offer such promise and benefit to both our countries," said Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef. "I hope that there will be an opportunity in the not-too-distant future to have the privilege of welcoming (President Karzai) to our campus," he added.