Sept. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin made rounds of meetings with several world leaders today as her campaign sought to bolster her foreign policy credentials.

Palin, the first-term governor of Alaska who had never before met a foreign head of state, made no statement before separate meetings with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia, both of whom were in New York for the United Nations General Assembly session this week.

Her campaign staff initially limited coverage of the meetings to photographers and television camera crews and allowed reporters in after protests from news organizations.

She also is talking today with former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. More meetings are scheduled for tomorrow and Republican presidential candidate John McCain plans to attend some of the sessions.

``There's no substitute for meeting all these foreign leaders,'' former Ohio Senator Mike DeWine said as he campaigned today with McCain. ``They'll find her to be very smart and a fast study.''

Palin's knowledge of foreign affairs has been under scrutiny because of her lack of experience on the international front. Palin, who got a passport only last year, faces a debate next week with the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Delaware Senator Joe Biden, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.

McCain, an Arizona senator, is scheduled to debate Illinois Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic nominee, Sept. 26.

Tomorrow's Meetings

Palin is scheduled to sit down tomorrow with more world leaders, including President Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia, President Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine, President Jalal Talabani of Iraq, President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

She'll also meet with Bono, lead singer of the Irish rock band U2, who has been leading a worldwide effort to reduce poverty and disease.

In an interview earlier this month with ABC News, Palin described her only overseas visit, to see U.S. troops, as the ``trip of a lifetime.''

On foreign policy issues, Palin said in the ABC News interview she supports having U.S. troops unilaterally across borders into nations such as Pakistan to chase terrorists.

She also said she favors NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia even if that raises the risk of a conflict between the U.S. and Russia.

To contact the reporters on this story: Catherine Dodge in Washington, at Cdodge1@bloomberg.net; Edwin Chen in Cleveland, Ohio, at echen32@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 23, 2008 14:09 EDT