German Defence Minister visits Afghanistan
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Defence Minister de Maizière with German soldiers in Kabul
(© dpa)
A few weeks after taking office as new German Defence Minister, Thomas de Maizière visited Afghanistan on 26 and 27 March. “Partnering”, said the Minister, “remains the key to success.”
In Kabul, de Maizière met with President Hamid Karzai, his Afghan counterpart Abdul Rahim Wardak and COMISAF General David Petraeus. In all meetings the contribution of the German Army (Bundeswehr) to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was highly commended. In addition to the political meetings, the minister took the opportunity to talk to German soldiers about their experiences in the field.
The second part of his trip led the minister to the Northern part of the country where Germany plays a key role as being the nead nation of ISAF. In Mazar-e Sharif, Kunduz and Faizabad de Maizière participated at commemoration ceremonies to honour those ISAF soldiers that have lost their lives in Afghanistan.
The minister underlined that partnering, the close cooperation with the Afghan National Security Forces, “remains the key to success” on the road towards transition.
