Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto urged the global community to not forget Afghanistan and held stabilise the nation ahead of the 2020 Afghanistan Conference scheduled in Geneva later this month.
“Unfortunately, the aid has not come for all areas in the country,” said Haavisto, who was in Doha after visiting Afghanistan to discuss the peace process and the upcoming international pledging conference in Geneva.
He was giving a lecture organised by the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies (CHS) at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.
Haavisto said that Finland has so far contributed €385 million euros to the international aid for Afghanistan since 2002.
“As the international donors prepare for the conference in Geneva in November this year, our message to the donors will be not to forget Afghanistan,” he said.
“We all need peace in Afghanistan, particularly the neighbouring countries like Iran, Pakistan and India. Our battle while preparing for the conference is to convince the donors to commit for the development in Afghanistan. There should be no donor fatigue.”
He called Qatar’s role in hosting the ongoing Afghan peace process “appreciable” and expressed hope for the success of the peace talks.
“There are always people who promote cynicism whenever there are peace negotiations. I am however hopeful for the success of the ongoing process,” Haavisto added.
Haavisto paid a two-day visit to Afghanistan on Oct. 26–27 to discuss current issues and the 2020 Afghanistan Conference, co-hosted by Finland, the Afghan Government and the United Nations.
