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KABUL, Jan 10 (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Joe Biden arrived in Afghanistan on Monday on an unannounced visit for talks with Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai.
The trip had been unannounced for security reasons and comes as U.S. President Barack Obama sticks to his plan to begin pulling some U.S. troops out of the country next July.
"The primary purpose of the trip is to assess progress toward the transition to Afghan-led security beginning in 2011, and to demonstrate our commitment to a long-term partnership with Afghanistan," a White House official said.
Biden will also meet U.S. service members and civilian personnel, and tour an Afghan National Army Training Center.
The trip is Biden's first time in Afghanistan as vice president. He was last in the country in January 2009. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, editing by Eric Beech)
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