Pledging to create a free market economy and crack down on corruption, Karzai said the government would hire a reputable international firm to audit its expenditures regularly.
He also confronted two other concerns expressed by donors, saying his administration was fully committed to the education of girls, who were banned from going to school under the former Taliban rulers, and to making sure Afghan farmers did not slip back into the production of poppies for the world drug trade.
The World Bank and the UN have estimated that Afghanistan needs US$1.7 million in the first year, US$4.9 in the first 30 months and US$10.2 billion in the first five years.
Kabul's government said it was "thrilled" by the first day's pledges and urged that the money be disbursed soon.
"The administration will make certain it will act responsibly with all pledges and hopes that the money will reach Afghanistan as soon as possible to initiate real work," spokesman Omar Samad said in a statement.
Some donors and aid agency officials, however, fear that Afghanistan cannot absorb such a deluge of cash.
"We've seen this in crisis after crisis. Countries need everything but they have no systems," said Clare Short, Britain's international development secretary.
The EU pledged 550 million euros (US$487 million) for this year. Of that total, 200 million will come from the European Commission and the rest from member states.
The European Commission, the European Union's executive branch, said it aimed to provide a total of 1 billion euros over five years.
Saudi Arabia, a former ally of the Taliban, promised US$220 million over three years.
India pledged US$100 million for long-term reconstruction and offered 1 million tonnes of wheat, as promises from a slew of other countries rolled in.
World Bank President James Wolfensohn said that he would propose to the Bank's shareholders US$500 million in concessional aid over the next 30 months, and the Asian Development Bank said it planned to provide an equal amount over the same period.
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