Italian PM on surprise visit to Afghanistan

KABUL: Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti made a surprise visit to Afghanistan on Sunday to see his country's troops and hold talks with President Hamid Karzai.

Monti visited the NATO-led Italian contingent at their base in the western province of Herat to mark Italian armed forces day before heading to Kabul to meet Karzai.

"They are doing a really great job, transferring the responsibility of the region to the authorities, national and local," he told a joint news conference with the president.

"We are very proud of our 3,500 men spending a part of their lives in the interest of global peace and in the interest of civic and economic development of a peaceful Afghanistan," he said. (AFP)