The United Nations' conference on the future of Afghanistan will be held next week in Berlin, visiting German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer announced in Washington on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters after meeting with US Secretary of State Colin Powell, Fischer said: "We are glad and honored to be the host for this meeting."
"We are looking forward now for the meeting of the UN with Afghan leaders to form a transitional government," Fischer said.
The German government will closely cooperate with the UN, he said. "It's very important to push forward now and speed up this political process."
Before his meeting with Powell, Fischer said he had a phone call with Lakhdar Brahimi, UN special representative for Afghanistan who informed him the decision of the UN to have this meeting in Berlin. "We are very happy about that," Fischer said.
(People's Daily November 21, 2001)
