Munich  - Meeting in Munich, 18 special envoys concerned with Afghanistan and Pakistan vowed Wednesday to step up cooperation and focus on the success of free elections this year in Afghanistan.

Germany hosted the consultations in the Bavarian city, the first meeting of the Afghanistan and Pakistan Support Group.

In a statement, the German Foreign Ministry said Berlin would coordinate the panel in future.

The envoys represented 14 nations as well as international organizations. Among them were UN envoy Peter Galbraith, US special envoy Richard Holbrooke and EU special envoy Ettore Sequi.

Germany's special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Bernd Muetzelburg, said, "The most important aim of our group is better coordination of the efforts of the international community."

He added, "We agreed that the biggest challenge in the near future is to conduct free and transparent elections in Afghanistan."

The support group is to meet again on April 17 in Tokyo at the same time as donors to Pakistan meet.

At an international conference in The Hague on Tuesday, the United States presented its new strategy for Afghanistan, with an emphasis on reconstruction and on involving all key regional players.

Germany has pledged to play a greater role in training Afghanistan's security forces and continue with its civil reconstruction programmes.

Both the United States and the European Union have vowed to provide tens of millions of dollars to help organize the country's August elections, in which President Hamid Karzai is seeking a new term in office. (dpa)