UAE TROOPS TO REMAIN IN AFGHANISTAN

DUBAI, April 1 (Bernama) -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is to keep its
forces in war-torn Afghanistan for the foreseeable future, according to its
envoy to the United States, Yousef Al Otaiba.

He said the move was to help improve stability in the region.

In an interview carried by The Nation daily, the ambassador said UAE troops
had an easier time because they were more accepted in Afghanistan, where the
government is battling insurgency.

"They see us as close to them, as fellow Muslims," he said in The Hague, The
Netherlands where an international meeting on Afghanistan was being held.

The newspaper said that over the past five years the UAE had contributed
troops, material and hundreds of millions of dollars in aid as part of a
multinational effort to secure and rebuild Afghanistan.

The Gulf state has about 250 troops in Afghanistan.
-- BERNAMA