22 June 2010 - The United Nations Security Council held a series of meetings in Kabul today, its first full day since arriving in Afghanistan in the evening of 22 June.

The 15-member delegation had a two-hour meeting with President Hamid Karzai and senior members of the Government, at the Presidential Palace, exchanging views on the current situation in Afghanistan.

Present at the meeting were Dr Zalmay Rassoul, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Dr Rangin Dadfar Spanta, National Security Advisor; Mr Taj Ayubi, International Relations Advisor; Mr Shaida Mohammad Abdali, Deputy National Security Advisor; and the President's Chief of Staff Mr Mohammad Umer Daudzai.

ISAF Commander General Stanley McChrystal together with NATO's Senior Civilian Representative, Mark Sedwill briefed Security Council members in a separate meeting at the headquarters of the International Security Assistance Force.

The delegation also visited the Kabul Military Training Centre, where members of Afghanistan's National Security Forces are trained.

In the afternoon, Security Council members met with members of Afghan civil society, in particular members of the Afghan Women's Network, human rights defenders and humanitarian workers and members of Afghanistan's Independent Human Rights Commission.

The delegation was also briefed by the head of UNAMA and Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan, Staffan de Mistura, along with senior staff from UNAMA and UN agencies operating in Afghanistan on the work of the United Nations in the country.

The visit will continue tomorrow.