Berlin  - Germany is to provide 420 million euros (655 million dollars) for reconstruction in Afghanistan, the Foreign Ministry announced in Berlin Wednesday ahead of a major conference on Afghanistan being held in Paris.

The German Foreign Ministry said the announcement was being made at the halfway mark of the Afghanistan Compact, agreed at the London Afghanistan conference held in 2006.

The German contributions now covered the entire period 2008-2010 agreed under the Afghanistan Compact, it said.

The Foreign Ministry said considerable success had been achieved, although training Afghan security forces remained a priority in the light of the continuing fragile security situation.

Thursday's Paris Conference, being attended by almost 90 countries, offered an opportunity for taking stock of the situation and talking about the remaining challenges, it said. (dpa)