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KABUL : Germany's foreign minister met Afghan President Hamid Karzai Saturday for talks that touched on Berlin's decision to boost its troops in Afghanistan to 4,500 next year, the president's office said.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier also pledged 10 million dollars towards presidential elections due next year, a statement from Karzai's office said after the meeting.
"During this meeting, Afghanistan and regional issues, bilateral issues, narcotics and the fight against terrorism as well as Afghanistan's reconstruction were discussed," it added.
Steinmeier also mentioned Germany's decision to increase the number of its soldiers in Afghanistan to up to 4,500 soldiers next year, Karzai's spokesman Siamak Herawi told AFP separately.
Germany had already announced plans last month to boost its military contribution to NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) this year by up to 1,000 soldiers to 4,500.
Steinmeier, who started his four-day trip to Afghanistan in Herat on Friday, opened a German-funded school for army drivers and mechanics in Kabul earlier Saturday.
He said his country was committed to helping to train Afghan security forces as part of efforts to rebuild the war-shattered country.
It is the Social Democrat minister's third visit to Afghanistan, which is battling a deadly insurgency led by the extremist Taliban whose 1996-2001 regime was ended in a US-led invasion.
Germany's mission within ISAF is unpopular at home and any move to expand the deployment further would likely provoke a voter backlash.
German troops operate largely in the relatively calm north and have been under pressure to move into the south where the fight against extremist insurgents is the fiercest.
The minister spoke to television journalists at a photo opportunity after the meeting but text reporters were not invited to the event.
- AFP /ls
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