ISLAMABAD, Nov 28: France has given conditional support to reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan linking it to responsible behaviour of the new Afghan leadership while Italy and Netherlands proposed formation of a Trust Fund to finance reconstruction activities in the war-ravaged country.

Speaking to nearly 200 delegates attending a three-day international conference on reconstruction of Afghanistan jointly organized by the UNDP, World Bank and Asian Development Bank, French ambassador Yannick Gerard said the responsible behaviour of the new Afghan leaders would be a decisive factor regarding the aid that the European Union was willing to grant for the reconstruction of the country.

The ambassador said that France attached great importance to the setting up of a reconstruction and development plan for Afghanistan but such a plan should be within the framework of the global settlement of the Afghan crisis as agreed by the UN Security Council Resolution 1378.

Ambassador Gerard emphasized the need for identifying the modalities of the transition from one phase to another in the reconstruction plan.

Informed sources said that Italy had proposed the formation of a Trust Fund for financing the recovery and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. Italian representative said that a Trust Fund might be appropriate, adapting to the Afghan context experience gained in the Palestinian territories and in the Balkans. Italy also recommended that UN and the main donors should coordinate and give strong political guidance for the use of the fund, the sources said.

Throwing weight behind the idea of creating a Trust Fund, a representative of the Netherlands embassy said he supported the idea of creating a “Reconstruction Trust Fund” managed by the World Bank, ADB or UNDP.

Later, speaking at a news conference, a spokesperson for the UNDP, World Bank, ADB conference, Dale Lautenbach, said that the delegates on the rebuilding of the public sector in the conference urged that assistance should not reinforce “artificial divisions” in Afghanistan.

The group stressed that decentralization should be driven by capacity, resources and accountability rather than the designs and desires of donors. The group recognized the entrepreneurial traditions of Afghans and demanded strengthening of the security, law and order and regulatory environment in which this spirit could grow and thrive.

The spokesperson said that a theme which cut across much of the discussion so far had been the need for capacity building and involving communities in decision-making from the very start, especially as many of these communities were already richly experienced in service delivery and organizing to meet basic needs.