About 1,000 delegates from 100 countries and international organisations are taking part in Monday's gathering. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is among some dozens of senior ministers in attendance.

It comes 10 years after a similar gathering held in the city, weeks after the Taliban fell from power. 
Organisers want to bolster long-term international engagement with Afghanistan and support efforts to restore security.

But key player Pakistan is boycotting the talks in protest at a Nato attack on a border checkpoint last month.
Nato apologised for the air strike on 26 November in which 24 Pakistani troops were killed.  

The US and other Western nations have long suspected Pakistan of harbouring the Taliban and other insurgent groups, including the Haqqani network, blamed for attacks on the Afghan side of the border.