Kabul: The United States will open consulates in two Afghan cities, US and Afghan officials said today, in Washington's first diplomatic missions outside the capital Kabul.
The first new consulate will open in the northern city
of Marza-i-Sharif next year, US Ambassador Karl Eikenberry
said after signing a land lease for the mission with Afghan
Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta in Kabul.
The second consulate will be established in the
western city of Herat, near the Iranian border, the ambassador
and Spanta told reporters.
"We have a long-term commitment to the government of
Afghanistan, we have a long-term commitment to the people of
Afghanistan," Eikenberry said.
"The signing of this lease to establish our first
consulate, the first United States consulate here in
Afghanistan in Mazar-i-Sharif with plans to establish one in
Herat in western Afghanistan, that's a sign of commitment."
Washington resumed diplomatic ties with Kabul after
invading Afghanistan to oust the Taliban regime following the
September 11 attacks blamed on Al-Qaeda then sheltered by the
Taliban.
Eikenberry's announcement came after US President
Barack Obama unveiled his new strategy for the war in
Afghanistan, pledging to deploy 30,000 more troops, but
setting a timetable for a gradual US withdrawal starting in
July 2011.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, December 02, 2009, 21:12