The EU, the US and other donors on Tuesday pledged billions of dollars in new funds for Afghanistan, hoping to salvage years of work aimed to foster peace and stability in the country, and coax along uncertain peace talks between the government and Taliban rebels at a time when Islamic State extremists have increasingly caused havoc and bloodshed.
A largely virtual pledging conference for Afghanistan, hosted by Finland and the UN in Geneva, Switzerland, drew representatives from nearly 100 countries and international groups in the first such event in four years.
Many countries set conditions for their commitments, mostly on progress toward peace, and demands for better governance.
Photo: AFP
“Donors pledged more than [US]$3 billion for the first year of the upcoming quadrennial, with annual commitments expected to stay at the same level year on year,” Finnish Minister for Development, Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari said.
That US$12 billion was an estimate based on the pledges for next year alone, officials said, adding that donors would review their commitments each year.
Afghan Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Haneef Atmar hailed an “impressive figure” tallied on Tuesday, adding: “It’s more important because it comes at a time when there is hardly any nation that has not been affected by COVID-19 in its economy and revenue.”
“That represents an enormous amount of generosity, when every nation has had its own challenges, that on top of that, it did not forget about our shared responsibility to succeed in Afghanistan,” Atmar said.
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