Kandahar, Afghanistan, April 13: The foreign ministers of France and Canada on Sunday visited a NATO air base in southern Afghanistan, where both countries have troops deployed in the fight against Taliban rebels.

Wrapping up a two-day joint visit to the war-ravaged country, France's Bernard Kouchner and Canada's Maxime Bernier travelled to Kandahar--birthplace of the Taliban movement--in separate planes.

The two ministers visited the French air force contingent serving with both the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and a separate US-led coalition, an AFP reporter witnessed.

Neither made any comments to reporters. The rest of their itinerary was kept secret for security purposes.

Canada has around 2,500 troops in southern Afghanistan, 82 of whom have been killed since 2002.

France earlier this month pledged to nearly double the number of its forces in Afghanistan to 3,000. It currently has about 1,600 soldiers based in th total of about 70,000 foreign soldiers, most of them under NATO command, are still locked down in Afghanistan battling the Taliban insurgency, launched shortly after they were ousted from power in late 2001.e Kabul region, and 160 troops at Kandahar air base.