Speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), the two leaders committed to two conferences on Afghanistan-one in London in January and the other in Kabul, for which no date was given.

"The United Nations is looking forward to working with Afghanistan's President Karzai," Ban told media. "This morning I spoke with Gordon Brown about a planned conference in London followed by a similar one in Afghanistan."

Ban said that it offered opportunities for high-level discussions between all those interested in Afghanistan's issues.

Brown said that Britain may commit a further 9,500 troops to Afghanistan, but would only do so if the nation showed signs of progress against corruption and more stable institutions.

The Afghan government must supply troops to collaborate with international forces and be trained by their British counterparts and British troops must be properly equipped, he said.

Brown also said that Britain would push Afghanistan to fight corruption at local and national levels, raising standards after an election that many reporters said included elements of fraud.

The Port of Spain meeting brought together 51 heads of state from nations most of which were former British colonies and Ban flew in to address a special plenary session on climate change on November 27, a highly unusual move which takes place when there are just a few days before the COP15 conference in Danish capital Copenhagen that is set to find a new agreement to replace 1997's Kyoto Protocol.

The meeting has attracted a total of 5,000 delegates to Port of Spain, including government officials, non-government organization workers, business people, media and representatives of youth organizations.