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    Prime minister visits Afghanistan

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    Member News

    10th June 2010

    Prime minister David Cameron has arrived in Afghanistan in an unannounced visit, his first since being elected in May.

    Cameron has announced an extra £67m in funds to help troops tackle roadside bombs in Afghanistan.

    The number of UK teams dealing with improvised explosive devices (IEDs) will be doubled, the prime minister said.

    He also announced aid funding for Afghanistan to strengthen its army, police and civil service capacity in what he described is a "vital year" to make progress in stabilising the country.

    In a press conference in Kabul, Cameron described the relations between the two countries as "very, very important" and that Afghanistan was the UK government's "most important foreign policy" and national security issue.

    Cameron said: "My biggest duty as prime minister of the United Kingdom is to our armed forces, to make sure that they have all the equipment and all the protection they need to do the absolutely vital job that they are doing here in Afghanistan.

    "I'm pleased to announce today that we will be spending an extra £67m on countering the IED threat and actually doubling the number of British teams that are there to counter the threat from these explosive devices."

    He added: "I've described this year - and the President, I know, agrees - in terms of the Nato mission in Afghanistan as the vital year.

    Cameron landed in Kabul on an RAF plane before holding talks with Afghan president Hamid Karzai.

    In his first major trip since taking office, the prime minister is visiting the country where there are 10,000 British troops, including some 500 special forces.

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