Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier arrived in Kabul this morning (29 April) at the start of a two-day visit to Afghanistan. Steinmeier is accompanied by Ambassador Bernd Mützelburg, his Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan on this, his fourth trip to the country.

In the course of the day, Foreign Minister Steinmeier will meet President Karzai, Foreign Minister Spanta and Interior Minister Atmar for political talks in the Afghan capital. He will also meet UN Special Representative Kai Eide and top EU representatives in the country.

Foreign Minister Steinmeier's short tour of the country comes only a few weeks after the Afghanistan Conference in The Hague, at which the international community and the Afghan Government took stock of their efforts to date. The new US strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan met with strong support from the international community at this event.