Feb 10, 2008

At the invitation of the Norwegian Atlantic Committee, Mr. Hekmat Karzai participated in the 43rd Annual Leangkollen Conference in Oslo, Norway. The tow day international conference that took place on the 4th an 5th on February was titled: “Challenges that NATO faces in and Out of area”.

Mr. Hekmat Karzai was a Keynote speaker at the opening session along with Erik Solheim, the Norwegian Minister for Environment and International Development and Kim Traavik, the Norwegian Ambassador to NATO. The title of Mr. Karzai’s presentation was “Afghanistan in a regional perspective” in which he highlighted the role of neighboring countries including Pakistan and Iran. Mr. Karzai also served as a panelist on tow other sessions: “The fight for the hearts and minds; information operations” and “How to achieve a comprehensive concept in practice?”

The Afghan Ambassador to Norway, His Excellency Jawed Ludin hosted a dinner in honor of Mr. Hekmat Karzai and invited the participants of the conference.

After the conference, Mr. Hekmat Karzai held official meetings with the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defence and also met with officials from two of the leasing research centres in Norway: Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) and the International Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO).

During his trip to Oslo. Mr. Karzai also addressed the Foreign Relations Committee at the Norwegian Parliament where he spoke about the importance of state building in a post-conflict environment.


To view the full agenda of the conference, please click here