Last year, while the country suffered its deep recession, it was discovered that the King was elephant-hunting in Botswana in the company of Corinna Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, a German princess with whom he has been romantically linked and whose name has also appeared in documents related to the Urdangarin investigation.
Mrs Merkel arrived early on Saturday in Kunduz, where Germany has a base, accompanied by Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg and military Chief of Staff Volker Wieker.