U.S., Global Partners Pledge Continued Afghanistan Support
05 December 2011
Secretary Clinton, left, holds private talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on the sidelines of the Bonn conference to discuss Afghanistan's future.
By MacKenzie C. Babb
Washington — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has pledged continued U.S. support for Afghanistan, joining nearly 100 nations in doing so at an international conference in Bonn, Germany, as Afghanistan works toward increasing self-sustainability.
“We want to send a very clear message to the people of Afghanistan that as they continue to make tough decisions, we will stand with them and do so in that spirit of mutual accountability,” Clinton said December 5 during the conference on Afghanistan’s future.
She emphasized that while the United States will continue to provide support for Afghanistan, Afghans themselves must also work to meet the commitments they have made.
“We look forward to working with them to embrace reform, lead their own defense and strengthen their democracy,” Clinton said.
She commended recent advances made by Afghans, highlighting in particular the “considerable progress” achieved by women and civil society during the past 10 years. She said the country’s health care system alone has made a “huge leap for women,” as shown in a new Afghan mortality survey.
“Ten years ago, the maternal mortality rate in Afghanistan was estimated to be the highest in the world. Today, women’s life expectancy has increased by between 15 and 20 years because women are finally getting access to health care, including prenatal care, and far fewer are dying in childbirth,” Clinton said.
While praising other notable gains by the Afghan government in recent years, the secretary acknowledged that “enormous obstacles” remain ahead for Afghanistan.
She said the Taliban remain active, posing security challenges, and noted that the World Bank recently projected that Afghanistan will face continued budget deficits that will require new resources and revenue. Clinton also said there remains much work to be done, by both the Afghan government and civil society, “to strengthen and build democratic institutions and to assure the rule of law.”
The secretary said the United States welcomes a series of economic, political and security plans announced earlier December 5 by Afghan President Hamid Karzai at the conference.
On the economy, she said Afghanistan committed to “set priorities, use international aid effectively and enact a series of economic reforms to crack down on corruption, spur private sector growth and attract new investment.” In response, she said the United States and other international partners will resume financial contributions to the Afghan Reconstruction Trust Fund.
She said Karzai also committed to expand the capacity of Afghan security forces. Clinton said the United States and other partners remain committed to training, advising and assisting Afghan forces as they take full control of their country’s security by the end of 2014. She added that participants in Bonn set out a blueprint for a post-transition Afghanistan, a road map for what the secretary called a “decade of transformation.”
On the political front, the secretary said Karzai committed to proceed with “inclusive, fair and credible presidential elections and a peaceful, democratic transfer of power in 2014.” She said the United States will continue to provide support for Afghanistan’s democracy, including the civil society.
Clinton added that Afghans have also committed to building stronger regional ties, and said the United States looks to Afghanistan’s neighbors to “actively support an inclusive Afghan-led, Afghan-owned reconciliation process.”
The Bonn conference, which brought together representatives from nearly 100 of Afghanistan’s neighbors, near-neighbors and international partners, was hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and chaired by Karzai.
Secretary Clinton is scheduled to travel to Lithuania, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands before returning to Washington December 8.