Afghan president Karzai starts 2 day visit to India

Afghan President Hamid Karzai Tuesday started a two-day official visit here after arriving here at 12:00 p.m. local time amid tight security, said official sources. Karzai is due to meet with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday evening after meeting Indian Minister of External Affairs S.M. Krishna, said the sources. Local media quoted officials as saying security cooperation between the two countries is expected to be on top of the agenda in talks between Indian and Afghan leaders during Karzai's visit. This is Karzai's second visit to India this year. Singh visited Kabul in May during which India and Afghanistan envisaged in a joint declaration a strategic partnership. The strategic partnership is aimed at bolstering cooperation against international terror and could include India training Afghan security forces on counter-terror operations, said local daily The Times of India.