"We have a vital interest in the stabilization of Afghanistan," Kasuri said after a meeting with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin.

Kasuri said a fence would stop militants crossing the mountainous 2,500-kilometer (1,500-mile) border, but Pakistan would like assistance from the European Union to realize the project.

Both ministers agreed about the importance of securing the Afghan border.

"We must improve the safety of Pakistan's border with Afghanistan and curb illegal border-crossings," Steinmeier said.

EU cooperation in Afghanistan was one of the issues Kasuri discussed with the German foreign minister, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Union.

Other topics included Pakistan's trade relations with the EU, combating the illegal drug trade and the fight against terrorism, Steinmeier said.

A joint commission

A joint declaration issued after the talks said the first meeting of the EU-Pakistan Joint Commission, set up under a cooperation agreement signed in 2004, would be held in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad later this year.

Kasuri said the control of Pakistan's frontier with Afghanistan was of major importance for bringing stability to its neighbor, where remnants of the ousted Taliban regime are battling NATO-led forces.

"Pakistan has offered to entirely fence the border," Kasuri said. "In fact we wanted to mine the border so that there would be no movement across the border, but as a mark of respect to the sensitivities of our European colleagues, we have decided that we will not mine the border for the time being. We will only fence it in certain areas."

The minister also called for EU help to repatriate Afghan refugees living in camps in Pakistan, who are seen by Islamabad as a source of recruitment for the Taliban.

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf recently announced plans to close four of the largest camps, calling them a "safe haven of all Taliban activity."

Militants remain a major problem

Militants infiltrating Afghanistan from refugee camps in Pakistan are posing a major problem for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) seeking to rebuild Afghanistan.

The Pakistan foreign minister also called for intelligence sharing and closer monitoring of the border, including aerial surveillance.

Germany's cabinet on Wednesday agreed to send Tornado reconnaissance jets to Afghanistan to help NATO forces pinpoint Taliban movements and locations.

NATO expects Taliban insurgents to launch a spring offensive in Afghanistan and has called on members of the alliance to beef up the force's current strength of 35,000.