By Reed Stevenson THE HAGUE, March 10 (Reuters) - The Netherlands will host a one-day U.N. conference on the future of Afghanistan in The Hague on March 31, the Dutch government said on Tuesday. It said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was likely to chair the meeting, proposed by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during a visit to Europe last week, and it would include NATO members and Pakistan. The Dutch Foreign Ministry, which made the announcement, said Iran would be invited, as would countries that contributed forces to the military operation in Afghanistan as well as aid donors and international organisations. "Under the auspices of the United Nations, a summit will be held on March 31 on Afghanistan," it said in a statement. "The conference comes before a crucial moment -- Afghanistan will hold presidential elections in 2009 and begin a new chapter," it added. "Choices must be made for the coming years." The U.S. administration of President Barack Obama is conducting a review of its policy on Afghanistan and Pakistan. Clinton told NATO foreign ministers last week goal of the conference would be to "provide an opportunity to reach a common set of principles" and repeated a U.S. appeal for NATO members to provide more troops to fight al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. Last weekend Iran said it would consider an invitation from the United States to attend a meeting on Afghanistan. (Editing by Andrew Dobbie)
Former Taliban soldiers display their weapons during a ceremony in the western city of Herat March 10, 2009. Forty Taliban fighters surrendered to the government on Tuesday, according to local authorities. ...
