خبر ها - افغانستان

Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrived in Italy on Wednesday and met his Italian counterpart Giorgio Napolitano in advance of signing a strategic partnership agreement, the Office of the President said.

Mr Karzai left Kabul for Europe on Tuesday for a four-day tour to sign strategic partnership agreements with Britain, France, Italy, and Turkmenistan.

Mr Karzai met Italian President Giorgio Napolitano to discuss issues of mutual interest, including the current situation in Afghanistan.

At the meeting, Mr Karzai said: "Afghanistan is a strong country with a government. I am firmly confident that the country will never slip back to the past."

The Afghan president will this evening meet with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and officially sign a strategic partnership agreement between the two countries.

The document is said to ensure Italy's long-term commitment to Afghanistan after 2014 and covers a wide range of areas including the political, security, economic and cultural spheres as well as co-operation on counter narcotics, rule of law, media and capacity-building.

Afghan President Karzai will meet with French and UK officials on Friday.

The Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently said the strategic partnership with France will span 20 years and cover economic, security and political co-operation with Afghanistan.

Italy has about 4,000 troops in Afghanistan and most of them based in western Herat province. The country has lost 42 soldiers during the Afghan war.