Afghan president to visit U.S. on May 12: White House

WASHINGTON, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai will visit Washington D.C. on May 12, the White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs said Sunday.

Gibbs, who is traveling with U.S. President Barrack Obama on a sudden visit to Kabul with Obama, said Obama invited Karzai to Washington D.C. in May and at last the two sides agreed that the visit will be on May 12.

Earlier, an official with Afghanistan's Presidential Palace, who insisted on anonymity, also confirmed that Obama invited Karzai to visit the U.S. in May. Obama told his Afghan counterpart that the progress achieved by Afghanistan in fighting against insurgents and in governance was encouraging.

The U.S. president, who arrived Sunday night to pay a sudden visit to Afghanistan, promised continuing U.S. support to Afghanistan during his meeting with Karzai soon after arrival.

It was Obama's first tour to Afghanistan after he took the presidency in January 2009. He paid a visit there as a senator and a presidential candidate in 2008.