Afghan interim leader Mr Hamid Karzai and six government ministers left for Rome today to bring ex-King Mr Mohammad Zahir Shah home from nearly 30 years of exile.
Officials there have indicated that the former king, who has delayed his return several times because of security fears, would leave Rome for the trip back to Kabul tomorrow or Thursday.
Mr Karzai and other supporters hope the frail, 87-year-old can help unite rival ethnic groups under a single national banner once he is back, even though he would return as an ordinary citizen, not a monarch.
In a show of support for Mr Zahir Shah's return, Afghan Defense Minister Mr Mohammad Fahim, an ethnic Tajik, was at Kabul airport to see Mr Karzai, a Pashtun, off on his trip to Rome on an executive jet.
The large group of ministers was regarded as another assurance to the king that it was safe for him to return.