PARIS, Sept. 30 (Xinhuanet) -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai is to begin his visit to France on Monday and hold talks with his French counterpart Jacques Chirac at the Elysee palace, French government announced Friday.

    It will be Karzai's first official visit to France. During his three-day visit from Monday to Wednesday, he will also meet French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy and Defence Minister Michele Alliot-Marie.

    It is also the president's first foreign visit since parliamentary elections on September 18.

    "The visit will be a chance for France to reaffirm its commitment to the stabilisation and reconstruction of Afghanistan," said French Foreign Ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei. Enditem