LOC16:47
13:47 GMT
PARIS, July 5 (KUNA) -- France, as current President of the G8, said
Tuesday it was supporting an Afghan project to construct a rail network, that
would provide internal links but also hook up with other networks outside the
country.
Officials here said that they had held talks Monday with Afghani government
officials, including Infrastructure and Mining Minister Wahidullah Shahrani,
and that about 20 nations from the G8 and the region around Afghanistan had
also participated in the talks.
The "Intergovernmental Talks" were co-chaired by Shahrani and French
Transport Minister Thierry Mariani.
After the talks, it was agreed that Afghanistan should establish a
"National Rail Authority" to develop domestic train line and their connection
with the country's neighbours.
The Transport Ministry said that France was fully behind this project,
which will take decades to complete.
The French Foreign Ministry said that it "welcomed this important
announcement" by Afghanistan and "the French Presidency of the G8 is working
to promote regional cooperation in the area". (end)
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KUNA 051647 Jul 11NNNN