Gen. John R. Allen, commander of the International Security Assistance Force, has praised the contribution of the Bulgarian troops to the stability of Afghanistan at a meeting with President Rosen Plevneliev.

Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev arrived on a surprise visit to Afghanistan on Wednesday.

Plevneliev's trip to Afghanistan is his second official state visit abroad after his inauguration on January 22, 2012, when he replaced two-term Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov. Plevneliev's first foreign visit was to Brussels.

The Bulgarian President was received immediately by the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai.

Bulgaria has some 600 troops in Afghanistan guarding the airports in Kabul and Kandahar, and a medical unit in the Herat province.

During his meeting with Gen. Allen, Plevneliev informed him of the Bulgarian strategy to transform its mission into Afghanistan with a gradual pullout of the Bulgarian troops by 2014.

After meeting with the NATO-ISAF commander, the Bulgarian President also met with the Bulgarian rangers serving in Kabul

"During all of my meetings I have received recognition and gratitude for the work of the Bulgarian troops in Afghanistan," Plevneliev told the rangers, according to the Bulgarian Presidency.