Kabul – Her Excellency Condoleezza Rice, the Secretary of State of the United States of America, is expected to arrive in Afghanistan for a one-day official visit on Thursday, March 17, 2005.

The Secretary of State will call on H.E. Hamid Karzai, the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, and H.E. Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

H.E. Dr Abdullah, in addition to a review of the bilateral relations between the two countries, will hold discussions on a wide range of issues including regional cooperation, military and security assistance to Afghanistan, counter-terrorism and counter-narcotics.

The United States led the International Coalition Forces in the war against terrorism and has the largest contingent of armed forces in Afghanistan. The United States is also the leading country assisting in the reconstruction of Afghanistan.