Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and his Afghan counterpart, Rangin Spanta, attended Sunday’s closed-doors meeting, held in the Paris suburb of La Celle Saint Cloud. Top European Union officials, including EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, were also there, the official said.

Representatives of Afghanistan’s neighbours - China, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan - were also present, as was regional heavyweight India, the French official said.

But another major regional player, Iran, was absent, said the official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity, in accordance with ministry policy.

Another French official said on Saturday that the Iranian foreign minister had called off a visit to Paris - where he was to meet with Kouchner and attend Sunday’s meetings - after a diplomatic spat with France.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday summoned the French ambassador to Tehran to protest remarks President Nicolas Sarkozy made about Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.