BRUSSELS: World powers pledged billions of dollars for war-ravaged Afghanistan until 2020 at talks in Brussels on Wednesday amid fresh calls for the Taliban to make peace 15 years after they were driven from power.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani met officials from more than 70 countries and international groups, including US Secretary of State John Kerry and UN chief Ban Ki-moon, at the conference.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini announced that the 28-nation bloc would pledge 1.2 billion euros ($1.5bn) a year and said, “I would expect similar levels of engagement from our partners.” She said there would not be “any donor fatigue on Afghanistan”.
Pakistan will provide $500m to Afghanistan for economic development projects, says Aziz
Ms Mogherini said that a dinner of key regional players, including China, India and Pakistan, on Tuesday night had “found common ground” for the Afghan peace process. “The European Union will try to facilitate this as much as possible in the coming months.”
Pakistan announced a fresh pledge of $500 million for economic development projects in Afghanistan.
Addressing the conference, Adviser to the PM on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz underlined the importance of a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan.
He said the fresh pledge was in addition to the $500m existing package under which projects in infrastructure, education and health were nearing completion.
He pointed out that 3,000 scholarships had been provided to Afghan students for higher education in Pakistan and after completion of this programme Pakistan would provide another 3,000 scholarships in areas of medicine, engineering, banking and other fields to help Afghanistan’s institution building.
Mr Kerry urged the Taliban to follow the example of Afghan warlord Gulbadin Hekmatyar and make an “honourable” peace with the Kabul government to end years of violence.
Mr Hekmatyar, who heads the Hezb-i-Islami group and was a key figure in Afghanistan’s civil war in the 1990s, signed a peace deal with President Ghani in September.
“This is a model for what might be possible,” Mr Kerry added, urging Russia and Afghanistan’s neighbours to play a role.
The Taliban continue to carry out attacks almost exactly a decade and a half after the US-led invasion that toppled the group in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, launching a major offensive on the city of Kunduz earlier this week.
Afghanistan remains dependent on foreign aid and a limited Nato military presence, despite having improved key life indicators, including maternal mortality and lifespan.
But the brutal war in Syria and the worst migration crisis since World War II have left Afghanistan facing competition for dwindling international donor funds.
Mr Ghani told the conference that Afghanistan was making progress on economy, corruption and human rights but needed constructive international support to see the changes through.
“Afghans can make peace, we will make peace, we are committed to constructive politics, not destructive politics,” he said.
Total pledges in Brussels looked set to fall short of the $4bn a year for four years that the international community promised for Afghanistan at the last such conference in Tokyo in 2012.
Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2016
