Afghan President Hamid Karzai signed a long term strategic agreement with Norway before flying to Egypt to attend the Islamic summit.
The agreement signed with Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg in the capital Oslo on Tuesday night specifies the framework for security, economic and development cooperation between the two countries, Karzai’s said in an official statement.
In a press briefing after the signing, Karzai praised Norway for its cooperation with Afghanistan during the past ten years and Stoltenberg said that Norway remains committed to assist Afghanistan in military and civil sectors. Afghanistan has signed similar agreements with UAE, US, Italy, UK, France, Germany, Australia and India.
Karzai left shortly after the signing to attend the Summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Egypt where political and economic cooperation between Islamic countries.
Egypt’s President Mohammed Morsi opened the summit on Wednesday, despite weeks of mass protests in Cairo and other cities against his leadership and what his critics claim are moves to strengthen the interests of his Muslim Brotherhood .
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is also attending the summit and was publicly warned on Tuesday by a prominent Egyptian clerics against Shiite Iran’s interfering in the affairs of the mostly Sunni Gulf Arab nations.
Karzai had earlier visited London on Sunday and Monday where he met with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and UK Prime Minister David Cameron. The three held talks with high-level government delegations from all sides to agree on stronger regional cooperation and security measures
