Italians remain committed to Afghanistan

Published Monday, December 24, 2007

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Echoing pledges by the leaders of France and Australia, Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi emphasized his county’s long-term commitment to Afghanistan in a meeting yesterday with President Hamid Karzai, the presidential palace announced.

Italy has about 2,400 troops in NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, mostly in the western province of Herat, where there is little violence. Italy has come under criticism for not allowing its troops to be put in Afghanistan’s more violent regions in the south and east.

Prodi’s stop here comes after visits by the leaders of France and Australia, who met with Karzai on Saturday. Each leader pledged that their countries were committed to Afghanistan for the long term. Those pledges come as the governments of Canada and the Netherlands debate how long their troops will stay in Afghanistan.

Prodi and Karzai talked about advances in the health and education sectors in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. Karzai also told Prodi that his country needs more international business investment, the palace said.

The Italian leader later traveled to Herat to meet with troops and local government leaders, the palace said. He also met with U.S. Gen. Dan McNeill, commander of the NATO force in Afghanistan.

Prodi’s trip came after visits Saturday by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, each in town to meet with Karzai and their countries’ troops.

Sarkozy told Karzai that France has a long-term political and military interest in Afghanistan, apparently signaling that French troops would not pull out of the country anytime soon. Sarkozy also met with some of the 1,300 French troops who are mostly stationed in the Kabul region as part of NATO’s military force here.

Hours after his meeting with Sarkozy, Karzai met with Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who was visiting some of the 900 Australian troops stationed in Uruzgan province, site of fierce battles this year.