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| Updated: 01-Aug-2006 | NATO Speeches |
Kabul, 20 July 200 |
Press conference by
NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer,
De Hoop Scheffer: I think if you see the three of us standing here--United Nations, European Union and NATO--you have a good example of how the international community is and should continue to be interested in Afghanistan and interested in assisting Afghanistan, the Afghan government in further developing this nation, this country. I've come here as NATO's Secretary General, I think, on a very important moment because we are approaching the moment, as you know, that the NATO ISAF force will go into what we call the third phase, the third stage, which is finalizing our build-up in the southern part of the country, and then hopefully soon go to the east as well. So this is, first of all, a message of support I have come to give. It goes without saying, on the other hand, it's important that we all take our responsibility. That goes for, not only for NATO, it goes for the UN and for the European Union, and first and foremost of course, also for the Afghan government itself. Because we have seen a lot of progress in this nation, we have seen a democratically elected president. There is a Parliament, there are provincial councils. In other words, it is Afghan ownership for me which is the key word, and I think we should match each other's responsibility, not only the international community as we are standing here now in front of you, but certainly also the Afghan government. There is still a lot to do on all sides. May I repeat what I wrote in newspapers last week. There is no security without development, the precondition for development is security. NATO came and will stay to provide and to see that that climate of security and stability is provided. That should be matched by the development side of the coin, the development side of the medal. That is, of course, United Nations, European Union, G8, the bilateral international donors, and also, as I said, the Afghan government. Vendrell: I would simply say that I very much welcome the presence of the Secretary General of NATO. I think we are on the same wavelength, and I think we need to proceed as fast as possible with what we set ourselves to do. Alexander: And we in the United Nations and in UNAMA also welcome very warmly the Secretary General's visit. Just the latest in a series of visits. And also the very excellent preparations being made for phase three transition in southern Afghanistan. A transition that is giving confidence to the international community, to Afghans first and foremost, and to the region, that the security challenges of Afghanistan, Afghanistan still faces, will be met. This force structure, this engagement is something the United Nations has requested, and we feel that NATO is delivering. Now, there is one overall message for Afghans and for the international community. There are important accomplishments in this country. A huge number of refugees have returned. Roads have been built. A huge number of schools are now open that simply were not open several years ago. And a large part of this country, most of this country, is engaged in development, is engaged in reconstruction. But that message has a complement and the complement is that the job is not over, and that the serious challenges of security in southern Afghanistan this year, are acute enough, are grave enough, that the approach of the Afghan government, the approach of the international community in support of the Afghan government is going to have to be different. And we are going to have to deliver on our commitments with a rigor and with a diligence that we probably haven't seen up until now, given the scale of violence in southern Afghanistan to date. Of course, there are parts of the south where development cannot be delivered at the moment because security is not a fact of life for villages, for districts, for communities. What is immensely pleasing for us, and gives us hope, is that UN agencies, NGOs, Afghan government ministries, are still able to operate in all the provinces of the south, to some extent. Not to the extent that they would like. And that they are available to redeploy in those areas when security is again a reality and we have seen that the resources, Afghan security forces and international security forces in the south are available to bring security to more and more of the south over time. Vendrell: Well, I was hoping that this would be a press conference for the Secretary General of NATO, not for either of us, so just very briefly, I mean, we are continuing our level of assistance. The question is how we're spending this assistance. I think we are increasing our assistance through the Afghan government, and as for the European commitment to Afghanistan it is... we are committed for the long haul. De Hoop Scheffer: Development is taking place. That we are now rolling out, I think, is the military term, our presence there, and that I, of course, hope that as soon as possible we'll see a situation there when... and on the basis of which development and reconstruction really can take place. Do not forget that, A, we're doubling roughly, the number of forces the coalition have there, and B, that we're entering territory where nobody has been before, in the sense where no foreign presence has been before. I think you'll see the beginning of results rather quickly, but let me say again, that it is combination of efforts we have to make. NATO is there to create the security and stability climate, and that's why we are here, the three together. It should be the international community as a whole, and the Afghan government, first and foremost, to make development possible. And what I said, and what I repeat here, that I think that the attention of the international community for Afghanistan could be higher and could be more prominent than it is at the moment. I fully realize that many things are happening in the world, and many dramatic developments are happening in the world at the moment, but we should realize that we have to succeed in Afghanistan, we will succeed in Afghanistan, and therefore high level political attention, not only from NATO, but from the whole international community, is an absolute necessity. NATO's not going to leave, so there's no point of no return. NATO's not going to leave. NATO will stay the course. But of course why am I so much hammering on development cooperation and seeing the standard of living of the average Afghan increase, that is first of all, if you ask him or her what is your major problem he'll probably not answer Taliban, but he'll say I have no job or there's no school. By the way, 8500 schools are now existing in Afghanistan. Let's not be gloomy. A lot of things have been achieved in Afghanistan. My central message is, and that's the central message of NATO, I'm not speaking about point of no return, I'm speaking about NATO staying the course. At the same time, part of an exit strategy, which is as important for NATO as it is for the Afghan government, is of course development, is training of the Afghan National Army, is training of the National Police. I mean, they want to take responsibility for their own country as soon as possible. Don't be mistaken, NATO's commitment is a longer term commitment. There's no way we're going to leave. But you'll realize, I hope, with me, that the Afghans should be able to take their own country into their own hands as soon as possible. And that, I think when I meet President Karzai this afternoon... |
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