By IRNA,
Berlin : German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has reportedly named Germany’s Ambassador to India Bernd Muetzelburg to become the special envoy on Afghanistan, the Hamburg-based Der Spiegel news magazine said Saturday.
The German diplomat is to coordinate the policies on Afghanistan and Pakistan with his American counterpart Richard Holbrooke following a US request, the report added.
A spokeswoman for the German Foreign Ministry confirmed there were plans by her
ministry to create such a post but stressed there had been no formal nomination yet.
She did not reveal any further details.
Muetzelburg was the foreign policy and national security advisor of former chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.
According to Der Spiegel, Holbrooke plans to establish a contact group for the region aimed at resolving the Afghan conflict.
Germany is the second country after Britain to have a special ambassador on Afghanistan.
German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung called last week for a new NATO strategy in Afghanistan.
He urged for stepped up efforts in the civilian reconstruction of the war- stricken country.
Only military means will not be sufficient to pacify the situation in Afghanistan, the minister was quoted saying.
The upcoming NATO Summit, co-hosted by Germany and France in early April, is expected to devise a new strategy for Afghanistan.
NATO has currently deployed around 55,000 troops in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in the war-ravaged country which is facing a resurgent Taliban and al-Qaeda insurgency.
ISAF is by far NATO’s largest mission, and is seen as crucial to the security and long-term credibility of the western military pact.
The ISAF mission was mandated by the United Nations in December 2001, in the wake of the overthrow of the Taliban.
The largest troop contingents come from the US with 23,220 followed by Britain with 8,910 and Germany with 3,500.
American President Barack Obama has announced that he would increase the number of US soldiers in Afghanistan by around 20,000.
However, he has also said he will call on European allies to make a similar commitment.