Afghanistan, Kabul, 14 September / Trend corr. A.Hakimi / As Taliban-linked violence continues to surge in Afghanistan and across the border in Pakistan, US President George W. Bush plans to meet his counterpart President Hamid Karzai on September 26, Trend correspondent reported from Kabul.
At the White House meeting, an official said, the two leaders would confer on the state of international efforts to improve security, governance and reconstruction in the war-torn country.
Bush and Karzai, who last met in Egypt in May, will have the opportunity to discuss security, the expansion of the Afghan National Army (ANA), the upcoming strategic partnership talks and the implementation of political and economic reforms.
White House spokeswoman Dana Perino announced the meeting in a written statement released in Washington on Friday. On Oct. 13, Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi will come to the White House to celebrate the strong ties between the US and Italy.
The Bush-Karzai talks will take place after the US President attends his final UN General Assembly before leaving office in January. The meeting will come weeks after Karzai's visit to Islamabad, a trip that seems to have helped thaw Afghanistan-Pakistan relations.
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