Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will take part in the International Conference on Afghanistan in Kabul on July 20, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Friday.
Foreign ministers and other top representatives of more than 70 countries and international organizations are expected to attend the talks, Andrei Nesterenko said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
"The Russian side confirms its readiness to realize jointly with international partners projects on restoring a range of Afghan industrial and agriculture production facilities built by Soviet specialists," Nesterenko said.
Soviet engineers were involved in constructing more than 140 industrial and infrastructure facilities in Afghanistan in 1952-1988, with funds provided by the Soviet government. The Pul-i-Kumri Hydropower Plant on the Kunduz River, the Naglu Dam on the Kabul River and a nitrogen fertilizer plant in the city of Mazar-e-Sharif are among the Soviet-built facilities, as well as highways, power lines, and gas and oil pipeline networks.
According to Russian expert estimates, the facilities accounted for more than 60% of Afghanistan's GDP in 1970-1980.
Russia's envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin, said in January that Russia was ready to help reconstruct Afghanistan, but called on Western countries to provide money.
He said civil construction projects are the most effective way to fight insurgents in the war-torn country.
Nesterenko said the agenda of the Kabul talks included the improvement of living standards and state regulations in Afghanistan, human rights and security issues, the country's cooperation with the international community and regional states, as well as the timeframe for NATO-led International Security Assistance Force's troop withdrawal.
The ISAF currently has some 130,000 troops in Afghanistan. U.S. President Barack Obama pledged to begin withdrawing soldiers from Afghanistan in July 2011.
Nesterenko said the troops should leave Afghanistan only when Afghan soldiers are able to ensure security in the country on their own.
Earlier, the U.S. Department of State published a list of countries which Secretary of State Hillary Clinton intended to visit in the period between July 19 and 23. Afghanistan is included in the list.
MOSCOW, July 16 (RIA Novosti)
