FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

I would like to thank the government of Afghanistan
and especially Finance Minister Ghani for their
hospitality during my stay.

The purpose of my trip was to get a better
understanding of the Afghan reconstruction process
including 1) progress to date, 2) coordination
efforts, and 3) the extent to which funds have been
allocated directly to the Afghan government. 

I will report on my trip to Secretary O’Neill and
others in my own government and also to the
Afghanistan Reconstruction Steering Group (ARSG),
which will be meeting in Washington later this week.

I had good meetings with President Karzai, Minister
Ghani, Governor Ahady and Ismail Khan.  I am very
impressed with the progress made by the Afghan
government.  The Finance Ministry has put in place a
financial accountability system to track revenue and
spending.  The currency exchange is ready to go and
the new investment law will help to attract investors.
 The government will cut export taxes to zero and
plans to rationalize the customs law.  I also observed
good regional cooperation during my visit to Herat.

Regarding reconstruction efforts, I heard many
comments that these efforts need to be sped up and to
be better coordinated.  I had good meetings with
international financial organizations as well as
bi-lateral donors and I believe that we can address
these issues now.  The road construction that will be
started soon by the United States, Japan and Saudi
Arabia is a good example.

I think coordination can be improved by setting
overall measurable goals as well as the means to
achieve these goals with certain timelines.  For
example, the measure of success for road building
could be the number of kilometers paved.

The government still needs funds to cover its
recurrent costs, which includes salaries.  The United
States fully supports the Afghan government in their
efforts.  I will report back on these findings to the
ARSG and the U.S. government.