Dutch foreign minister Maxime Verhagen (L) welcomes US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, on March 30, 2009 to The Hague, following a meeting prior to a UN conference for Afghanistanon due to start tomorrow. The 'big tent' meeting in The Hague coincides with a new US strategy to overcome the Taliban, more than seven years after they were ousted from power for harbouring Osama bin Laden and members of his Al-Qaeda network.'This meeting will not be a pledging conference,' Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said yesterday in an invitation letter, although EU officials say they may announce funding for pivotal Afghan elections in August. Getty Images logo Getty Images 8 months ago

Dutch foreign minister Maxime Verhagen (L) welcomes US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, on March 30, 2009 to The Hague, following a meeting prior to a UN conference for Afghanistanon due to start tomorrow. The 'big tent' meeting in The Hague coincides with a new US strategy to overcome the Taliban, more than seven years after they were ousted from power for harbouring Osama bin Laden and members of his Al-Qaeda network.'This meeting will not be a pledging conference,' Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said yesterday in an invitation letter, although EU officials say they may announce funding for pivotal Afghan elections in August.

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  1. Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, left, and his Dutch counterpart Maxime Verhagen, right, give a brief statement prior to their meeting in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009.
  2. NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 12: Minister for European Affairs, Frans Timmermans (L) and Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs, Maxime Verhagen (R) speak at the opening celebration of a major new exhibition - 'New Amsterdam: The Island at the Center of the World' at the South Street Seaport Museum on September 12, 2009 in New York City.

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  1. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner (L) greets his Dutch counterpart Maxime Verhagen at the start of a European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels December 8, 2009.
  2. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle (L) and his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner (C) welcome EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton as Dutch Foreign MInister Maxime Verhagen (R) look on at the start of a European Union foreign ministers meeting in Brussels December 8, 2009.
  3. Norway's Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Store (R) watches as his counterpart from the Netherlands Maxime Verhagen sits down at the start of a NATO-Ukraine foreign ministers joint meeting at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, December 3, 2009.
  4. Netherland's foreign minister Maxime Verhagen (R) welcomes Israeli counterpart Avigdor Lieberman in the Hague on November 11, 2009. Lieberman is on a visist in a bid to strengthen ties with the European Union.
  5. A woman, holding a roll of toilet paper with a picture of Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and a text reading "zionist ethnic cleansing paper, the strongest!", shouts slogans protesting against Lieberman's visit and meeitings with Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen and members of parliament in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009.
  6. Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, left, and his Dutch counterpart Maxime Verhagen, right, give a brief statement prior to their meeting in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009.
  7. KABUL, AFGHANISTAN - NOVEMBER 18: U.S. General Stanley McChrystal (L), head of the U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, arrives at the Kabul International airport before the arrival of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on November 18, 2009 in Kabul, Afghanistan. This is her first trip to Afghanistan as U.S Secretary of State. Clinton will meet with Afghan President Karzai before he officially starts his second term of office.
  8. RNPS IMAGES OF THE YEAR 2009 - U.S. special representative Richard Holbrooke falls backwards after losing his balance when he entered a tent to meet an internally displaced family at the Shah Mansoor camp in Swabi, about 120 km (75 miles) northwest of Pakistan's capital Islamabad, June 4, 2009. Holbrooke urged European and Muslim nations on Thursday to help families who have fled the conflict in Pakistan's Swat valley and avert a humanitarian crisis.
  9. US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke talks to the media after his meeting with EU officials, at the European Counsill building in Brussels, Wednesday, Dec.2, 2009.
  10. US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke talks to the media after his meeting with EU officials, at the European Counsill building in Brussels, Wednesday, Dec.2, 2009.
  11. US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke talks to the media after his meeting with EU officials, at the European Counsill building in Brussels, Wednesday, Dec.2, 2009.
  12. Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, speaks with journalists after a meeting at the European Council headquarters in Brussels December 2, 2009.
  13. Afghan opposition candidate Abdullah Abdullah (R) shakes hands with United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon (C) as United Nation's special envoy to Afghanistan, Kai Eide (L, background) looks on prior to a meeting in Kabul on November 2, 2009. UN chief Ban Ki-moon flew into Kabul on November 2 to meet President Hamid Karzai over the Afghan election crisis with organisers to announce whether or not to scrap the poll after the only challenger pulled out. The surprise visit from Ban accompanied a diplomatic push to ensure the November 7 one-horse race does not take place, despite the initial insistence from some officials that it is too late to halt the process.
  14. Palestinian and UN vehicles take a flooded street following heavy rains in the al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City on October 29, 2009. Hamas said it will ban the organisation of elections in its Gaza Strip stronghold after president Mahmud Abbas called for a vote in the Palestinian territories.
  15. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (C) meets with French senatorial delegation members, Senator of Val-d'Oise Robert Hue (2ndL), Senator of Morbihan Josselin de Rohan (2ndR), Senator of Meurthe-et-Moselle Daniel Renier (R) and Secretary General of the French Delegates for the 64th Session of the General Assembly Philippe Thiebaud (L), at the United Nations headquarters in New York, October 28, 2009.
  16. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (2ndL) meets with French senatorial delegation members, Senator of Val-d'Oise Robert Hue (L), Senator of Morbihan Josselin de Rohan (2ndR) and Senator of Meurthe-et-Moselle Daniel Renier, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, October 28, 2009.

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