Speaking at a joint press conference in Kabul with his visiting German counterpart, Franz Josef Jung, Wardak said a strong Afghan army was the sole way to promote enduring peace in the Islamic republic.

"The only sustainable way to secure this country in an enduring way is to enable Afghans themselves to be able to defend their country," Wardak said.

"We are expecting from our friends and allies, especially the countries with which we enjoy the most close relations, like Germany, to assist us in strengthening (the) Afghan army both in quality and quantity," he added.

Afghanistan's army currently numbers 58,000 troops, with a target of 70,000.

The fledgling force is being trained by Western troops based in Afghanistan, who number around 60,000, mostly under the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

Foreign and Afghan troops are waging an intense campaign against the extremist Taliban movement, which was ousted from power by US-led forces in late 2001.

"Eventually as our size grows and our capability improves we can have the capability to relieve our friends and allies from the burden of the joint campaign which we're striving for at the moment," Wardak said.

"Our final aim is that we do not want to be a permanent burden on the international community," he added.

Germany has over 3,000 troops in Afghanistan, mainly based in the relatively peaceful north of the country.

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