Afghan president meets Turkish foreign minister in Kabul

- Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani met with visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on bilateral relations Thursday, said Arg, the country's Presidential Palace.

"The two sides discussed and exchanged views on expansion of relations between Afghanistan and Turkey during the meeting held in Arg on Thursday morning," a statement from the Presidential Palace said.

Cavusoglu has reiterated Turkey's continued support to Afghanistan, saying that Turkey will support Afghanistan's position during upcoming international conferences on Afghanistan, the statement added.

The two conferences to be held in Warsaw in July and Brussels in October will focus on Afghanistan's security and development respectively.

The Turkish top diplomat also said his country will continue to play a constructive role in Afghan government's push to realize peace, security and stability in Afghanistan and in the region, the statement noted.

Welcoming Cavusoglu and the visiting delegation, President Ghani thanked on behalf of the Afghan government and the Afghan people for Turkey's help and cooperation in various fields in Afghanistan particularly Turkey's military assistance within the framework of NATO-led Resolute Support (RS) mission.

The NATO and U.S. forces completed their combat mission in Afghanistan by the end of 2014 after 13 years of military presence in the country.

Nearly 13,000 foreign forces are currently stationed in Afghanistan to help Afghan forces for training advising and backing Afghan forces in fight against insurgents.

About 520 Turkish soldiers have been serving in the central Asian country within the RS mission.

source : xinhua