Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai thanked Canadians for their support and said he hopes Canada will consider providing more help with reconstruction efforts in his war-torn country.

At a joint news conference with Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien in Ottawa on Saturday, Karzai said he hoped Canadian troops would remain in his country until it can "stand on its own feet."

When asked by reporters if Canada would be sending more troops to Afghanistan, Chretien said Ottawa will not consider the question until its current peacekeeping mission is complete.

"It might be a possibility after our 12 months are over," he said.

"We don't know. We're looking at all the options. But I think we are making progress there."

Karzai told reporters he had not asked Canada for more troops but instead asked for more help with reconstruction efforts.

"The only thing I asked was if Canada could think of providing a PRT ... to help the provinces in Afghanistan," he said.

He explained that a PRT is essentially a team of military personnel that carries out reconstruction projects in various provinces, where warlords and lawlessness continue to thrive.

"By the fact of being military contingents, they also provide -- by unintended consequences -- security where they work for reconstruction,'' Karzai said.

To date, New Zealand and Germany have provided such teams to Afghanistan.

Chretien said providing a PRT might be a possibility after Canada's current twelve-month commitment was completed.

"We're looking at all the options," he said.

Defence Minister John McCallum, who attended the meeting between Chretien and Karzai, told the Canadian Press that Canada has the capacity to put a PRT force together.

"After the 12-month period ... we may make a further, much smaller contribution, possibly a PRT as the prime minister indicated," he said. "But we're not there yet. It's too early."

Karzai arrived in Ottawa on Saturday after speaking to the Council of Foreign Relations in New York on Thursday.

At present there are 1,950 Canadian troops serving in Afghanistan as part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force. Canada is scheduled to take command of the NATO-led peacekeeping force next year.

In addition to its military contribution, Canada will have contributed $250 million toward reconstruction and humanitarian aid to Afghanistan by the end of 2004.

With a report from Canadian Press