US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has named veteran diplomat Dennis Ross to be her special adviser for the Gulf and Southwest Asia, the State Department announced Monday.

"This is a region in which America is fighting two wars and facing challenges of ongoing conflict, terror, proliferation, access to energy, economic development and strengthening democracy and the rule of law," State Department spokesman Robert Wood said in a statement.

Ross, who worked on the Middle East peace process for the administrations of former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, will be asked to provide Clinton with assessments, strategic advice and perspective, according to the statement.

Prior to Ross's appointment, former Sen. George Mitchell has been named as the Obama administration's special envoy for Mideast peace, and Richard Holbrooke is special coordinator for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Last week, Clinton announced that Stephen Bosworth will serve as special envoy to six-party nuclear disarmament talks.

The six-party talks, involving the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the United States, the Republic of Korea, China, Japan and Russia, have been focusing on the settlement of nuclear issues on the Korean Peninsula since August 2003.

(Xinhua News Agency February 24, 2009)