Afghan officials: Aid, political pledges on agenda for Bonn talks

Nov 28, 2011, 14:28 GMT

Kabul - International aid and political commitments after 2014 will be the main agenda topics at next week's conference on Afghanistan in the German city of Bonn, senior Afghan officials said Monday.

Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal said the international community had already committed to support Afghanistan until 2014, when all NATO-led troops are due to withdraw from the country.

'We are not worried about their commitments by the end of 2014, but we need a strong and a clear political commitment after 2014,' Zakhilwal said.

He said Afghanistan would still need five to six billion dollars annually in aid beyond 2014.

The Bonn Conference on Afghanistan takes place on December 5 in the former German capital, where 90 countries and various international organizations will discuss long-term assistance for the war-torn country.

Jawid Ludin, the Afghan deputy foreign minister, said the Bonn Conference marked the most important new step for Afghanistan and would discuss the security transition, international aid and political commitment.

'We have achieved so much and this is an opportunity to evaluate those achievements but, at the same time, this is also an opportunity to discuss the challenges ahead for Afghanistan,' Ludin said.

Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, the head of Afghan transition, said the security responsibility handover from NATO-led international troops to Afghan forces would also be a priority for discussion.

On Sunday, Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced 18 areas, including six provinces, to be handed over in the second phase of transition, but did not specify when this would occur.

Around 130,000 international troops currently in Afghanistan are to be withdrawn by the end of 2014.