Germany calls on Afghanistan to cooperate with neighbours

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle called on Afghanistan to cooperate with its neighboring countries in a bid to achieve a more peaceful and a safer future. Westerwelle said today in a conference in Kabul on Afghanistan's future following NATO troops withdraw in 2014, Germany, where possible, would continue to assist Afghanistan. He added that Afghanistan's security situation depended decisively on the emergence of positive economic development. Foreign ministers and officials of 30 nations, mainly from Central Asia, as well as major international organizations have convened in Kabul today to discuss Afghanistan's future once NATO troops leave in 2014. Germany currently has 4,000 NATO troops stationed in northern Afghanistan and are scheduled to pull back to military bases by the end of 2014.