More than two years after the Taliban was ousted from power, the international community regrouped yesterday in Berlin to shore up Afghanistan's fragile reconstruction process and assess its needs for the future.
Officials from participating countries and organizations talk hopefully of US$4 billion being pledged; of peacekeepers deploying in the lawless provinces; of a new commitment to tackle rampant narcotics production; and of financial aid for forthcoming elections.
Aware of the international support for his administration, Afghan President Hamid Karzai spoke here on Tuesday of a vision that within a decade, Afghanistan "will no longer be a burden on the shoulders of the world."
He warned, however, that there was virtually no prospect of his building a "safer and better" country unless the international community found US$27 billion for its reconstruction.
"We have a plan for Afghanistan to take our country by the year 2014 to a higher income per capita, a higher state of legitimacy, a direct democracy for our people and more stability and peace," he said.
Karzai arrived in the German capital after declaring that presidential and parliamentary elections are to be held in September, three months later than originally planned but still a sign of progress.
Yet the country's record is blighted by violence, notably from remnants of the ousted Taliban, a thriving narcotics industry and a lingering problem of warlords ruling the roost in outlying provinces.
The two-day talks are being co-chaired by the UN, Afghanistan, Germany and Japan and drawing hundreds of ministers and officials from some 60 countries and organizations, including 20 foreign ministers.
They will focus on stabilizing Karzai's government, boosting its authority in the restive regions, stepping up security, tackling drugs and intensifying humanitarian and financial aid.
German Overseas Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul said Kabul could receive pledges of a total of around US$9 billion spread over three years.
Other officials say it would be a success if four billion in short-term aid could be pledged.
Afghan Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani, who is also in Berlin, has said that US$27.5 billion would be needed in the next seven years and that previous pledges "vastly underestimated" Afghanistan's needs.
NATO has indicated it is willing in principle to roll out its forces beyond the Kabul region, and the alliance's secretary-general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, another participant here, may make an announcement to that end.
Mark Malloch Brown, administrator of the UN Development Program, said it was essential for troops to spread out in order to ensure fair elections.
"If you're looking for two criteria of success for this meeting," he said, "one is obviously what is said on the reconstruction and international financial support, but the second is do we move forward on this NATO commitment?
‘GREAT OPPRTUNITY’: The Paraguayan president made the remarks following Donald Trump’s tapping of several figures with deep Latin America expertise for his Cabinet Paraguay President Santiago Pena called US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming foreign policy team a “dream come true” as his nation stands to become more relevant in the next US administration. “It’s a great opportunity for us to advance very, very fast in the bilateral agenda on trade, security, rule of law and make Paraguay a much closer ally” to the US, Pena said in an interview in Washington ahead of Trump’s inauguration today. “One of the biggest challenges for Paraguay was that image of an island surrounded by land, a country that was isolated and not many people know about it,”
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
‘FIGHT TO THE END’: Attacking a court is ‘unprecedented’ in South Korea and those involved would likely face jail time, a South Korean political pundit said Supporters of impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol yesterday stormed a Seoul court after a judge extended the impeached leader’s detention over his ill-fated attempt to impose martial law. Tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Seoul Western District Court on Saturday in a show of support for Yoon, who became South Korea’s first sitting head of state to be arrested in a dawn raid last week. After the court extended his detention on Saturday, the president’s supporters smashed windows and doors as they rushed inside the building. Hundreds of police officers charged into the court, arresting dozens and denouncing an
CYBERSCAM: Anne, an interior decorator with mental health problems, spent a year and a half believing she was communicating with Brad Pitt and lost US$855,259 A French woman who revealed on TV how she had lost her life savings to scammers posing as Brad Pitt has faced a wave of online harassment and mockery, leading the interview to be withdrawn on Tuesday. The woman, named as Anne, told the Seven to Eight program on the TF1 channel how she had believed she was in a romantic relationship with the Hollywood star, leading her to divorce her husband and transfer 830,000 euros (US$855,259). The scammers used fake social media and WhatsApp accounts, as well as artificial intelligence image-creating technology to send Anne selfies and other messages
RSS