The defeat of terrorism plus economic and political stability represent the "absolute priority" for the new Afghanistan, according to Mr Hamid Karzai, the Pashtun tribal leader appointed to head the interim Afghan government due to take office on Saturday .
Speaking in Rome yesterday where he had meetings with the Italian Prime Minister, Mr Silvio Berlusconi and with the exiled ex-King of Afghanistan, Zahir Shah, Mr Karzai expressed his gratitude to the international community and to Italy in particular for the "concrete support" offered to the Afghan people. In recent months, Italy has sent £33 million of aid to Afghanistan.
Asked if he envisaged difficulties for his interim government, Mr Karzai struck a positive note saying that, thanks both to the intended international peacekeeping force and to the infrastructural aid promised by many countries, Afghanistan would soon resume its rightful place in the international community.
Asked if the burqa, the traditional head-to-toe dress that women were obliged to wear under the Taliban regime, would now be banned, Mr Karzai responded: "Afghanistan is a Muslim country and therefore we will give women a free choice whether to wear it or not. Banning it would only be another imposition."
Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi, confirming international expectations that Afghanistan will hold free elections within two years, said his guest was a "balanced and intelligent man, in love with his fatherland", adding: "He represents an excellent choice (to head the interim government). The Afghan people will be in good hands."
After his meeting with the prime minister, Mr Karzai met the ex-king, who is an old family friend. Mr Karzai's grandfather, Abdul Ahad Karzai, served as prime minister under Zahir Shah, prior to the 1973 coup which sent the king into exile in Rome.
Although the ex-king has denied having political ambitions, he nonetheless played a minor role in the formation of the interim government.
Mr Karzai's two-day stay in Rome continues today.