BRUSSELS (SW): Afghanistan has managed to secure $ 15.2 billion worth of international support at the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan that concluded on Wednesday.
The Conference was jointly hosted by the European Union and the government of Afghanistan. This conference brought together some 75 countries and 26 international organizations and agencies. Participants endorsed the ambitious reform agenda presented by the Afghan government. They undertook to ensure continued international political and financial support for Afghanistan over the next four years.
The total sum committed by the international community is US $15.2 billion. The EU and its member states committed to US $5.6 billion while the rest comes from the US, the UK and other countries. This exceptional level of funding binds the Afghan government to remain on a firm path to political and economic stability, state-building and development.
President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani thanked the international community for believing in the future of Afghanistan. He pledged to strive for transparency, human rights and help resolve the refugee crisis. He told the participants that Afghanistan was on the path towards self-reliance. “In the last three months alone, we have secured commitments for investment of $1.1 billion from the private sector. What is particularly rewarding is fully $800 million is in the energy sector- requiring a 20-year timeframe”, he said.
The amount pledged is slightly less than the $4bn a year that the international community promised at the last Afghanistan conference in Tokyo in 2012.
ENDS
