Brussels, 12/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - A new era is dawning in Afghanistan to strengthen the rule of law, governance and capacity development in a country where stability is fragile and where the ongoing reforms receive the full support of the EU. This was underlined on Thursday 12 May when European development ministers held a discussion in Brussels with Afghanistan's finance minster, Eklil Ahmad Hakimi, on the reform process and preparations for the donors' conference that the EU and Afghanistan will co-chair in Brussels on 4-5 October.
The donors' conference will bring together up to 75 countries and around 20 international agencies and organisations. It will offer the Afghan national unity government an important platform for reconfirming its commitments to continued reforms, and will offer the international community the chance to review the progress of the last few years. This is what the Council states in its conclusions, which were adopted unanimously by the Foreign Affairs Council in its Development format.
The Council also states that the NATO summit in Warsaw and the October donors' conference in Brussels will enable the international community, on the basis of commitments from the Afghan government, to send a strong signal of political and financial support for peace, the construction of the state and development of Afghanistan, and for the creation of a dynamic regional cooperation policy open to Afghanistan's neighbours.
The Council says that, if the conditions are met, the EU is ready to commit a level of development aid equal to current levels (€200 million per year until 2020). It states that it is the responsibility of the Afghan government to show clear commitment for political and economic reforms, and that tangible progress in the electoral reform will help boost confidence in the democratic process ahead of the future elections.
Concerned at the worsening humanitarian situation, the Council underlines the importance of humanitarian law. It supports all the efforts to facilitate an Afghan-led peace process and to promote reconciliation at the national and regional levels.
With the EUPOL mission coming to an end in 2016, the Council gives assurances that the EU remains committed to supporting the Afghan police once the mandate for this mission has expired.
The Council states that the Afghan people, and especially its young people, have the right to a viable future in the country, and that the capacity of the Afghan institutions to respond to the basic needs of the country's population to reduce poverty will be a determining factor. The Council therefore encourages the Afghan government to foster sustainable economic, social and environmental development, while ensuring gender equality in the access to jobs, the further improvement of governance, addressing the issue of drugs production and trafficking, building a sustainable system of taxation, and fighting corruption. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)