Statement By

His Excellency Hamid Karzai
President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

Afghanistan Contributors Meeting
NATO Summit

Bucharest, Romania

03 April 2008

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Mr. Secretary General,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,

Six and half years ago, Afghanistan presented the world with a crucial set of questions, the answer to which is continuing to define not just the future of Afghanistan but also the security of the world at large. Would the world decide to act together to address the threat of international terrorism? And would the Afghan people finally get a chance to decide their own destiny, become a stable, democratic prosperous country that will never again become a safe haven for international terrorism.  

Six and half years ago, the people of Afghanistan and the international community led by the United States joined hands to liberate Afghanistan from the grip of international terrorism and to begin the journey of rebuilding a nation from a past of violence, destruction and terror. We have come a long way in this shared journey.  

Today, I am here not just to discuss the way forward in Afghanistan, but also to express the gratitude of the Afghan people for the invaluable role that NATO, individual member states and other countries from around the world have played over the past years.  
In a few short years, as a result of partnership between Afghanistan and the international community, we were able to create a new, democratic constitution, embracing the freedom of speech and equal rights for women; voted in the first-ever democratic elections for the president and brought an elected parliament. Today close to five million Afghan refugees have come home, one of the largest return movements in history.  

Thousands of schools have been built, welcoming over six million boys and girls, the highest in our history. Hundreds of health clinics have been established boosting our basic health coverage from a depressing 9 percent six years ago to over 85 percent today. Access to diagnostic and curative services has increased from almost none in 2002 to more than forty percent today. We have built 4,000 km of paved roads, over the past six years, more than ever existed in Afghanistan. Our rapid economic growth, with a double digit growth rate almost every year, has resulted in higher income and better living conditions for our people. With a developing road network and a state-of-the-art communication infrastructure, Afghanistan is better poised to serve as an economic land-bridge in our region.  


The creation of the Afghan National Army and police represents a guarantee of future stability for our country. While the Afghan National Army has received early attention and as such its abilities have increased, we are placing a stronger emphasis on support to building the capabilities of our national police.

All these and much more that I did not mention today would not have been possible without your help.  

Ladies and gentlemen,

I hasten to point out that our achievements must not distract us from the enormity of the tasks that are still at hand.
I find this summit a great opportunity to share with you my expectations and concerns about the way forward.  

Among the challenges, terrorism is by far the most menacing, particularly with a view to the growing regional dimensions of the threat.  Today, the terrorism that has affected Afghanistan for years is also presenting a challenge to the stability of Pakistan and requires a stronger military and political response from all of us.  

I reiterate Afghanistan’s commitment to a strong regional and international cooperation in the fight against terrorism and our readiness to play a full part. As an integral element of this cooperation, NATO must remain strong, united and flexible to adjust to the evolving need of the campaign.

In the political context, we believe that those members of the Taliban willing to return to Afghanistan to lead more rewarding, civilian lives under our constitution, must be allowed to do so. We must also work more vigorously to retain and promote the active support of local communities who, in reality, are at the frontline of our war against terrorism. In this regard, the issue of civilian casualties as a result of counter-terrorism operations remains a serious concern for the Afghan people. I thank General Dan McNeil for his constructive engagement with us on the issue and I hope that NATO members will take every possible measure to prevent civilian casualties.


Excellencies,

The Afghan nation has a genuine desire to stand on its own feet, and not to be a burden on your shoulders longer than necessary. In our effort to assume greater responsibility in meeting our security challenges, I call for the strengthening of efforts aimed at training, equipping and expanding the Afghan security forces. Thankfully, with your help, today we are at a stage where we can begin the long-desired process of Afghan-i-zation. As a concrete step in this direction, I am pleased to announce that the Afghan forces are prepared to take responsibility for the security of Kabul and we are currently working with NATO to implement this decision by August this year. I am confident that in the future, with the increased capabilities of our security forces, we will gradually assume responsibility in other parts of the country as well.

In our on-going efforts for government reform, in 2007 I established the Independent Directorate for Local Governance and tasked it to vigorously review and address the cumbersome system of provincial and district administrations in the country.  Recognizing the key importance of a credible and functioning administration at these levels, the new department has streamlined the process of senior appointments to local government jobs.

The restoration of Afghan judiciary from a shattered, discredited institution in the past, to a functional and credible system, capable of dispensing justice and putting an end to impunity, has been one of our hardest tasks.  We have come a long distance in this effort and, thankfully, today tangible results are visible.  Continued efforts, matched by your continued support in this field will be needed for a much longer time to come.

On corruption, we are fully aware that our progress is affected by the betrayal of public trust by some functionaries of the state, or the faulty mechanisms of aid delivery. I appointed a commission last year, led by the Chief Justice, to identify the sources and causes of corruption and draw up an anti-corruption action plan. After a year of hard work, the commission has completed a very detailed study which was presented to me two weeks ago. We will soon decide on the effective implementation of the Commission’s recommendations.    

Allow me to turn for a moment to the menace of narcotics, another of Afghanistan’s serious challenges, and one that has a close relationship with terrorism. It is troubling that, despite the significant reduction in poppy growing provinces, the total poppy harvest in 2007 moved upwards.
Our objective for 2008 is to further increase the number of poppy free provinces, and to reduce the poppy growing fields by at least 25 percent.  The fight against poppy cultivation will only be successful through increased security, better governance and more importantly alternative livelihood. This calls for a greater role by the international community to step in and help the Afghan government more vigorously. What remains to be addressed is the strong and diffused network of drug trade in the region and beyond that is sustaining the drug economy in Afghanistan.


Ladies and gentlemen,

While the challenges in the governance area are mostly for the Afghans to address, and we will address them; we need your support in further strengthening the development agenda. We Afghans are very grateful for your generous assistance in the reconstruction of our country, but it is clear that we must use your hard earned tax-payers’ money better and more efficiently. It is time aid effectiveness became a central concern for all of us.

In two months, at the initiative of President Nicolas Sarkozi, a donor conference on Afghanistan will be held in Paris.  I would like that conference to be an opportunity for the Afghan Government and our partners from the international community to emphasize the correlation between security and development, and to revisit the question of whether the scale of the development programme for Afghanistan is commensurate to the challenges facing the country.

I also emphasise the critical role of the United Nations in coordinating the positions of the international community, and maintaining strong partnership with the Afghan Government.  In this context, I welcome the appointment of the new special representative of the Secretary General of the UN, Mr Kai Eide.  My government and I are looking forward to working closely with him.


Excellencies,

Today, at this important summit, I am asking you to recommit, fully and unreservedly, to the goal of supporting Afghanistan to achieve stability and prosperity.  Thanks to your support, a remarkable transformation is already afoot in Afghanistan. Our nation is liberated from decades of oppression, violence and interference and moving to realize its long-suppressed potential for development.  It is not easy for me to describe what it really means when a nation gets an opportunity to take its destiny in its own hands!  Suffice to imagine a thriving moment, bursting with hope and anxiety, in a struggle between the gift of freedom and a deep sense of responsibility to protect it. Thanks to the sacrifices of your men and women, and to the continued determination of our own people, that moment in Afghanistan is today.


Thank you.