EU – France to hold Afghanistan aid conference in June

   BRDO PRI KRANJU, Slovenia, February 22, 2008 – France will host an
international conference on development aid for Afghanistan in late June to
reiterate EU’s support, an EU official said here Thursday.
   "The Paris conference, late in June, should provide an opportunity for us
to reiterate our support (to Afghanistan) and review half way the process that
started in London," EU special representative to the country Francesc Vendrell
said during a meeting of the EU Troika here.
   Berlin hosted the last development aid conference for Afghanistan in
January 2007 to follow up on a meeting the previous year in London when a
five-year reconstruction plan was launched.
   French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced last month the organization of a
new conference without giving a date.
   France has about 1,600 troops serving in Afghanistan in a 60,000-strong
NATO-led force battling the Taliban-led insurgency. They are also providing
training for Afghanistan’s security forces.

AFP