Ottawa – On the eve of the NATO summit in Riga, Latvia, His Excellency President Hamed
Karzai and The Right Honourable Prime Minister Stephen Harper, reiterated their strong
commitment to NATO’s security assistance role in Afghanistan, alongside Afghan national
security forces, in fighting international terrorism and extremism.

In a phone conversation Monday, President Karzai appraised Prime Minister Harper of new
developments in the security and reconstruction fields, especially in the South of
Afghanistan, and thanked Canada for helping secure districts that are now the focus of
development projects.

President Karzai also expressed his condolences to all Canadians and to the families and
colleagues of Chief Warrant Officer Robert Girouard and Corporal Albert Storm, who became
the latest victims of terrorism in Southern Afghanistan this week.

The Afghan President praised Canada and other members of the international community for
their continued support for rebuilding efforts in Afghanistan. Both leaders agreed with
collective plans to accelerate the training and deployment of Afghan National Army and
Police forces in areas of need, while concentrating on quality, quantity and equipment.

The views of the Afghan government will also be conveyed to Canadians by H.E. Ehsan Zia,
Minister for Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD), who will visit Canada from 30
November to 8 December at the invitation of The Honourable Josee Verner, Minister of
International Cooperation and Minster for La Francophonie and Official Languages.

Minister Zia will visit Ottawa, Quebec City, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver, where he
will meet with various groups of Canadians and Afghan-Canadians, highlighting the work of
the MRRD to combat poverty and rebuild rural infrastructure across all Afghan provinces.

Canada continues to provide substantial aid totaling almost $1 billion over the period
2001 to 2011 for development assistance to Afghanistan, out of which, $110 million has
been allocated to MRRD programmes.

For any additional information, please contact Mr. Tamim Amini at the Embassy of
Afghanistan, at 613.563.4223 or email at contact@afghanemb-canada.net