A conference charting a new course for the future of Afghanistan was due to open in London Thursday with troop training, political reform and reconciliation high on the agenda, DPA reported.
Afghan Presdident Hamid Karzai, speaking in London ahead of the opening, said he believed that Afghanistan would need international support for up to 15 years to come.
He told the BBC that the training and equipment of Afghan forces would take up to 5 to 10 years, after which assistance would still be needed.
Karzai said he would be leading a strong anti-corruption drive while at the same time training Afghan forces and starting a programme of reintegration and reconciliation with moderate Taliban fighters ready to lay down their arms.
The one-day conference, chaired by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, brings together foreign ministers and senior representatives from 70 countries, including US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
It will be co-chaired by Karzai and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.