Biden to address pro-Israel AIPAC

By Julian Pecquet - 02/26/13 12:32 PM ET

Vice President Biden will address a prominent pro-Israel lobby's annual conference on Monday, a White House official confirmed.

Biden's speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference will be closely watched, coming just ahead of President Obama's inaugural visit to the country later in March. Topics on the trip's agenda include restarting peace talks with the Palestinians, Iran's nuclear program and the civil war in Syria.

Obama attended AIPAC in person when he was a presidential candidate in 2008 and again in 2011 and 2012. Biden spoke to the group in 2009, and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke to the conference in 2010.

Other high-ranking officials who have confirmed their attendance at the conference include Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird, Senate Minority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas), House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-N.J.). Biden's attendance was first reported by JTA news service.

The conference runs Sunday through Tuesday. It's expected to conclude with a lobbying push for legislation that would designate Israel for the first time as a "major strategic ally."

—This story was updated at 1:45 p.m.