Brussels, 21/04/2008 (Agence Europe) - European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) Javier Solana arrived in the Afghan capital Kabul on Monday morning for a one-day official visit seeking to improve the effectiveness of the international community's efforts. “This is the moment to reflect on what we, the international community, can do, working in conjunction with our Afghan partners to enhance our efforts”, he told the Afghan newspaper Daily Outlook. In the course of the day, Solana had meetings with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta, Commander of ISAF forces Dan McNeill (United States) and UN Special Envoy Kai Eide (Norway). “This is an important time to visit Afghanistan,” said one of his advisers, referring to the push in the training of the Afghan police through the EUPOL operation. The same source added that the high representative's visit, his first to the country since 2004, was part of preparations for the conference on Afghanistan to be held in Paris on 12 June. This conference will consider the progress made in the country under the Afghanistan Compact. A key element of the Compact is the commitment of the international community to helping Afghan authorities create a police force of 62,000 officers by the end of 2010. The European Union is playing a key role in this by providing 160 police trainers and 70 other professionals, who are already on the ground, to help create and maintain the force. Solana's spokeswoman, Cristina Gallach, said that, in the short term, there was no intention of increasing the number of trainers, as some member states had proposed. She said, too, that the aim was not to recruit any specific number of trainers but to ensure the quality of the training for the “upper echelons”. She added that the “absorption capacity” of the mission's infrastructure would also limit the usefulness of additional European officers. NATO recently called on the EU to step up police training, believing this to be an essential step towards maintaining the security necessary for the development of the country. It is certain that development would feature in the talks between Solana and UN envoy Eide, whose mandate is to improve coordination among all the international organisations in Afghanistan. Solana will travel to Pakistan on Tuesday for meetings with the heads of all the parties in the ruling coalition. (C.D.)