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President Karzai, Prime Minister Harper Hold Joint Press Conference
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 On September 22, President Karzai and Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada, held a joint press conference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa and emphasized the need for continuing cooperation between the two countries.
Prime Minister Harper conveyed the importance of succeeding in Afghanistan: “Ensuring security in Afghanistan is a top priority for Canada and the international community and, therefore, Canada has troops in Afghanistan, especially in the province of Kandahar, to counter the dangers this country is facing. The Canadian troops alongside other NATO member countries are serving in Afghanistan based on the UN resolution and Canada will never leave until the mission is successfully accomplished.” He went on to add that Canada will continue its military assistance to Afghanistan until 2009 and its humanitarian assistance until 2011, and beyond if necessary. President Karzai expressed his hope that all Canadian soldiers return home safely, and emphasized that their sacrifices are for a greater cause aimed at going straight to the source of terrorism and removing the threat forever. He thanked Prime Minister Harper for the generous assistance of the Canadian people to Afghanistan and said, “I will return to my country with the message: Afghanistan is not alone, it has good friends, like Canada.” |