Stockholm - Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt arrived Tuesday in Afghanistan for an unannounced two-day visit.

Sweden currently holds the presidency of the European Union. The visit was partly to follow up on an action plan for Afghanistan recently adopted by the 27-nation bloc.

"It is important that we start a very open and clear dialogue with the Afghan leadership about what needs to be done to turn events into a better direction," Bildt wrote in his personal blog.

The period until parliamentary elections due next summer in Afghanistan was "very important - perhaps decisive," Bildt said.

During the visit, Bildt said he was scheduled to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who was recently declared the winner of the August presidential election.

Bildt was also due to meet Karzai's main challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, who dropped out of a planned run-off vote against Karzai. The run-off was subsequently cancelled. (dpa)