International community commits to helping Afghanistan through new stage of nation rebuilding
The international community today launched the five-year Afghanistan Compact together with the Government of Afghanistan, assuring continued high-level global support for Afghanistan over the coming years.
Representatives from more than 60 nations and international organisations were present at Lancaster House in London for the formal unveiling of the Compact. The Compact, a blueprint for the next stage of Afghanistan’s rebuilding, follows the completion of the Bonn process which ended with the inauguration of an elected parliament and provincial councils in December.
The Afghanistan Compact sets out goals and timelines in security, governance and human rights, and social and economic development. It also embodies a commitment to tackling the most difficult issues currently facing Afghanistan, including illegal narcotics.
The Compact is being underpinned on the Afghan side by a national plan - the interim Afghan National Development Strategy (iANDS) - which was also unveiled today. Both the Compact and the iANDS will help ensure Afghanistan meets its longer term development objectives.
Speaking at the press conference today:
United Kingdom Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw: “This week’s London Conference on Afghanistan demonstrates how strongly the international community remains committed to supporting the people of Afghanistan in the long term. The Afghanistan Compact is recognition of our joint determination to see that the next stage of nation building succeeds.”
President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai: “With this Compact and the plan that we have outlined in our iANDS we, the Government and people of Afghanistan, move forward to the next stage of our rebuilding. The Bonn process, begun four years ago, was an agreement to create the institutions of government; today, in the Afghanistan Compact, we have an agreement about making these institutions work.”
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan: “As the Afghan Government under President Karzai’s able leadership and the international community work to implement this plan, the United Nations stands ready to assist – after being forced to sacrifice so much in war, the Afghan people have willingly given even more to peace. They expect a peace dividend. And they deserve it.”
Full text of the Compact and other Conference details can be found at www.afghanistanconference.gov.uk.