Participants at a UN high-level meeting on Afghanistan urged on
Sunday the need for sustained international efforts to support the
central Asian country for its peace and stability.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Afghan President Hamid
Karzai co-chaired the high-level meeting to assess the progress
made so far in Afghanistan and discuss further measures to help
bring peace and stability to the central Asian country.
In a communique issued after the meeting, the participants
reaffirmed their "commitment to the emergence of Afghanistan as a
stable, peaceful, prosperous and democratic member of the family of
nations."
They underlined the partnership between the Afghan government
and the international community, expressed in the Afghanistan
Compact - a five-year development blueprint launched in January
2006 by the Afghan government and its international partners.
The compact is "based on the desire of the parties for
Afghanistan to progressively assume responsibility for its own
development and security," they said, stressing the "need for
sustained international efforts to support Afghanistan to achieve
this end."
They also stressed the "central and impartial role" of the UN in
leading international efforts, and expressed "full support" for the
UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), and other UN agencies
in the country.
They hailed the progress made so far, noting gains in economic
development and humanitarian indicators, as well as steps taken to
improve the security situation.
"With a view to collectively addressing remaining problems, the
participants focused on improving strategic coordination in
Afghanistan across four main areas: security and counter-terrorism,
regional cooperation, counter-narcotics and governance," they
said.
Speaking to reporters following the meeting, the UN chief said
the gathering was "very constructive and useful."
"Afghanistan is going through a crucially important transition,"
Ban said.
Ban said that while the challenges facing the fledgling
democracy are "enormous and difficult," the international community
has reaffirmed its commitment to support the Afghan government's
efforts, in terms of economic and social cooperation.
The meeting also stressed the need for further efforts by Karzai
and other Afghan leaders to promote inclusive political dialogue
for national reconciliation, he added.
Karzai highlighted the ongoing peace and reconciliation process
taking place in the country, as well as efforts to "bring into the
fold" those Taliban who are not part of al-Qaeda or other terrorist
networks.
Representatives from 17 member states, including China, France,
Iran, the US and Britain, and international organizations and
entities -- the Asian Development Bank, the European Union, the
European Commission, NATO, and the World Bank -- attended the
meeting.
The participants included US Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, EU foreign
policy chief Javier Solana, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop
Scheffer and China's UN Ambassador Wang Guangya.
(Xinhua News Agency September 24, 2007)
