AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands, September 11, SPA -- Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende made a surprise visit to Dutch troops in Afghanistan on Tuesday, and was to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the government said. Balkenende's Cabinet will decide within a few weekswhether to extend Dutch participation in the NATO missionin Afghanistan when the two-year mandate of its2,000-strong force ends in August next year, the Associated Press reported. Ten Dutch soldiers have died so far since the troops weresent last year to the southern province of Uruzgan. Also attending the meeting with Karzai was the Dutchjunior foreign affairs minister, Bert Koenders, who ispressing donor nations, the U.N. and the World Bank to paymore attention to reconstruction, especially in the areasof law enforcement, human rights, and combating poverty andcorruption. «In deciding whether the Netherlands will extend itsmilitary mission past the summer of 2008, civil aspectswill play an important role,» Koenders said in a statementMonday. Koenders' office announced ¤15 million (US$20 million) innew donations to build up Afghanistan's police forces, ¤3million (US$4 million) for improving the quality of girls'education, and ¤13 million (US$18 million) for agriculturaldevelopment and small loans to farmers and small businessesin Uruzgan.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/481858