Monday, January 31 2005 15:44 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Aimed at giving a boost to India's relations with Afghanistan, External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh will make a brief visit to Kabul on February 15 before flying the same day to Islamabad for talks with Pakistani leaders.

Singh will hold talks with President Hameed Karzai and other leaders and has convened a meeting of India's Consuls General in four Afghan cities in Kabul to assess the post election scenario.

Describing Karzai as a "special friend", Singh told reporters in New Delhi that he would get an overview from Afghan leaders on what was happening in the region.

His trip is aimed at further strengthening India's relations with Afghanistan. "The intense engagement in our relations goes back centuries," he said.

Terming the Afghan elections as a "major event", he said that it was quite remarkable that women voted in large numbers.

Singh will meet his Afghan counterpart Abdullah and exchange views on the entire gamut of bilateral ties as well as on important developments in the region and international issues of mutual interest.

One of the issues that is expected to come up is that of transit rights for Indian goods to Afghanistan via Pakistan.

Washington has conveyed to India that it would use its good offices to facilitate such movement.

The two sides will review the progress in the Zeranj-Delaram road link. India has been in the forefront on rehabilitation and rebuilding efforts underway in the war-ravaged country and is one of the largest aid donors.

Singh will be paying a three-day visit to Pakistan from February 15, the first bilateral one by an Indian External Affairs Minister in 17 years. The last visit was by P V Narasimha Rao in 1988 when he was Foreign Minister in the Rajiv Gandhi Government.