Afghan president meets Australian PM on ties

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has met with visiting Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on bilateral relations, the Afghan Presidential Palace said Tuesday.

"Both sides talked over the expansion of bilateral ties and Australian assistance with Afghanistan in a meeting in the Presidential Palace on Monday," it said in a statement.

Turnbull was quoted in the statement as saying that he was interested in establishing relations between Australian and Afghan universities in order to encourage bilateral cooperation in the areas of mines, water management, project management, program management and health services.

"Turnbull promised that he will follow these issues upon his return to Australia," the statement noted.

During the meeting, Ghani described Australia as a historical friend of Afghanistan and thanked Australia for its assistance and cooperation with Afghanistan in different areas.

"Afghanistan and Australia have excellent and friendly relations. President Ghani recently visited Australia where agreements in the areas of technical and scientific cooperation were signed. Also, an MoU worth 320 million Australian dollars was signed by both countries in accordance with commitments of Brussels Conference during this visit," the statement reads.

Turnbull has expressed his condolences and sympathies to the Afghan leaders and people over the latest terrorist attack on Afghan army base.

On Friday, a deadly Taliban attack on the base left over 135 soldiers killed and 60 others injured in the northern province of Balkh. Endit