By DPA
New York : United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon paid a surprise visit to Kabul Friday, holding talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on various issues, including the fight against illegal drug trafficking and on corruption.
It was Ban's first visit to Afghanistan since he assumed his post in January. The UN maintains a sizable mission to help the Karzai administration deal with the huge humanitarian needs of the war-torn nation.
The visit was announced at UN headquarters in New York. The UN said Ban also met Yunus Qanooni, speaker of the Afghan parliament and General Dan McNeill, commander of NATO's International Security Assistance Force.
In talks with Karzai, Ban stressed the importance of good governance, calling for strong leadership accompanied by action to deal with major problems in Afghanistan, the UN said.
Next week, Ban and Karzai will attend an international conference in Rome to discuss the rule of law in Afghanistan.