The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday welcomed a set of 10 conditions by major donors for their continued support to Afghanistan as part of the Geneva Conference for the next four years.
Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States and European Union (EU) on Tuesday shared a list of conditions with the Afghan government to address them for their continued help to Afghanistan.
The Afghan government has said that these conditions are in line with the interest and priorities of the Afghan people and the government.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the conditions were reviewed by the cabinet and that the cabinet “considered the conditions effective for achieving lasting peace in line with the objective and priorities of the people and the government of Afghanistan.”
The ministry says the government considers the implementation of these elements essential for the success of the negotiations and for achieving enduring and just peace in the country.
Despite the Afghan government’s acceptance of these conditions, the demands of many donors do not seem to be in line with the Afghan government’s views. The donors have called for the protection of gains the country has made over the past 19 years. It has called both on the Afghan government and the Taliban to deliver on their promises.
But the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in its statement has not mentioned the peace process in the first condition, and in the eighth condition, without mentioning the Taliban, the Afghan government has said that the Afghan soil should not be used against other nations.
“It should not be too much political, which could lead to the limitation of the aid while the assistance has already started declining and Afghanistan is facing a surging poverty,” said Nazir Kabiri, CEO of Biruni Institute, a research organization in Kabul.
An inclusive Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process; a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire; continued commitment to democracy, the rule of law, and human rights; are part of the conditions.
The 2020 Afghanistan Conference is the last pledging conference of the Transformation Decade (2015-24), which aims to take the country towards self-reliance, and is expected to renew the international community and Afghan commitments to the development and stability of Afghanistan up to 2024, said a statement by event organizers.
The main conference will take place on November 24, with side events to discuss key challenges and accomplishments for Afghanistan occurring the day before.
