FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Welcome. Thank you for coming on such short notice to this important meeting. President Bush is eager that we develop a strategy for rebuilding Afghanistan once our military efforts there have succeeded. This meeting and your presence here demonstrate the commitment of the international community to the people of Afghanistan, and to all people that are suffering from the impacts of war on terrorism.

The focus of our attention today is Afghanistan, but in reality our goals extend much more broadly. The impacts of terrorism extend to many countries. As we discuss strategies for laying the foundation for a more prosperous and peaceful Afghanistan, we should remember those in other countries that will also need our support. This is especially true of some of Afghanistan's nearest neighbors. Success in the war on global terrorism requires strong and sustained efforts from all of us on many different fronts, including providing meaningful economic opportunities for citizens of the most affected countries. It will take all of us working together to be successful, and I thank all of you for your contribution in this effort.

Together we face a daunting task: to help rebuild Afghanistan from years of neglect and mismanagement. Afghanistan today is one of the poorest countries in the world:

• Annual income averages less than $200 per person.
• One out of six children die before their first birthday.
• Two-thirds of the population are not literate.
• Only 13% of the population have immediate access to drinking water, and not all of that water is safe to drink.

The first challenge, of course, is direct humanitarian assistance. The UN, under the strong leadership of the Secretary-General and with the able assistance of Mr. Oshima and Mr. Brahimi, is off to a tremendous start in providing immediate assistance to the people of Afghanistan. We owe them our gratitude.

A second challenge will be restoring essential services and reintegrating refugees back into their communities, just so people re-establish normal lives in their communities with their family and friends. We will need to focus on ways to help people to:

• generate basic levels of income;
• provide essential health and education services;
• improve food security; and
• undertake emergency infrastructure repairs.

But even then our task will not be over. It will not be enough to restore Afghanistan to where it was one year, five years, or even twenty years ago. If we wish to see a more vibrant, peaceful, and successful Afghanistan, we must meet a third challenge: we must assist the Afghan people in laying the foundation for a basic market economy and for sustained economic development. The critical elements will be:

• A stable macroeconomic and political environment;
• substantial investments in health and education;
• strong government institutions; and
• a robust and productive private sector, open to global trade and investment.

In particular, we should try to assist the Afghan people to allow them to live productive and successful lives. This means, for example:

• improving the infrastructure and services needed to create a vibrant rural economy -- one that gives poor farmers a viable option to growing poppies.
• building or rebuilding schools and health care facilities so Afghans can lead healthy, meaningful lives.

This is our focus here today. I am hopeful that today we can establish a process that provides appropriate policy guidance to those actually delivering reconstruction assistance on the ground. As we go forward, it will be crucial for us to continuously measure the results and reassess the assistance we are providing to make sure it is as effective as possible in meeting Afghanistan's most important needs. External assistance poorly directed and poorly coordinated can be not only wasteful but can be harmful as well. That is why the process initiated today is so important.

It is extremely important that we place a special focus on strengthening basic education, especially of young girls and women. We will not be successful unless Afghanistan's recovery and development is for all of its people.

Our goal is a more peaceful and prosperous world for all people of all faiths and nationalities. Achieving this goal will require a long-term, sustained commitment from all of us. This gathering is just the first step in that process. I thank you for joining us in this endeavor.