Afghan president meets British secretary of defence in Kabul

Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani met visiting British Secretary of Defence Michael Fallon on Thursday here, the country's presidential palace Arg announced.

"The two sides discussed the general security situation in Afghanistan and in the region while underscoring the importance of anti-terror measures," said a statement from Arg.

Fallon has reiterated Britain's continued support to Afghanistan during the meeting, according to the statement.

They also exchanged views about increasing abilities of Afghan security and defence forces as the Afghan troops have changed their fight against insurgents from defensive to the offensive style, the statement said, adding that expanding security cooperation and matters about the Afghan refugees also figured in the talks.

The NATO and US 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 within the framework of the NATO-led Resolute Support (RS) mission to help Afghan forces in the field of training and advising.

More than 350 British service members have been serving within the framework of RS in the country.

--IANS

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