Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrived in New Delhi Wednesday afternoon for a three-day working visit, his third tour to this country since 2002.

Karzai is accompanied by a high-power delegation including eight cabinet ministers. Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran received him on arrival, the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) reported.

Besides calling on President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Karzai will meet External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh and Information and Broadcasting Minister S. Jaipal Reddy during his visit.

During the meetings, Karzai will discuss "multi-faceted relations" between the two countries, especially in areas of economic and technical cooperation, IANS quoted officials as saying.

Karzai's visit comes a week after Natwar Singh's brief trip to Kabul.

(Xinhua News Agency February 24, 2005)