Working as partners in Afghanistan

This is an important week for Afghanistan. It is also an important week for the regional governments and wider international community that are determined to help the Afghan government and people achieve political stability and economic prosperity. Turkey and the United Kingdom are due to play a key role, working together as we do on so many other issues.

The terrorist attacks in Kabul on Jan. 18 were another appalling illustration of why we must remain committed to this effort. No political aim can justify such violence. The peaceful majority of the Afghan people should not be subjected to this sort of atrocity. They want our help. They need our help. They deserve our help.

Turkey has a lot to offer. The country has deep and longstanding ties with Afghanistan. Its support to Afghanistan today is substantial, including development assistance; strengthening stability through its Provincial Reconstruction Teams; training and capacity building; and political support through backing dialogue between Afghanistan and its partners. Turkey makes a real, very positive difference.

As a major regional player, Turkey of course has a strong national interest in Afghanistan’s stability, security and prosperity. The British government strongly supports Turkey’s efforts in coordinating and strengthening regional support for Afghanistan at this crucial time. The trilateral (Afghanistan/Pakistan/Turkey) summit and regional conference Turkey hosted in Istanbul this week rightly put Afghanistan's regional partners at the forefront of the international effort to support Afghanistan. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband has been invited to the conference as an observer. This will enable him to ensure that the international conference on Afghanistan hosted jointly in London on Jan. 28 by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Afghanistan’s President Karzai, and the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, complements the regional commitment and the Afghan government's own efforts to develop Afghanistan’s security, development and governance in President Karzai's second term.

As Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said when he visited London recently, this set of interlinked conferences will send a strong international message of commitment that we are together in supporting the Afghan people and their future.

We must not lose sight of the fact that this effort is not just about Afghanistan. The implications go much wider. Building Afghan stability is central to a long-term vision for the region and for the international community, in which extremism, violence, intolerance and criminality have no place.

We in the U.K. welcome and support the work being done by Afghanistan and Pakistan – aided by Turkey and the international community – to tackle these threats. Terrorism bred in the instability of the lawless border regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan has already hit other countries hard, including the U.K. Criminality seeps across borders, with the drug trade and its associated blights of organized crime, exploitation and violence undermining our societies and the rule of law. In a globalized world, all problems are shared problems. We simply cannot ignore what happens in Afghanistan.

This month’s conferences in Istanbul and London mark a new stage as the international community shifts toward a more supportive and better coordinated role in Afghanistan. We recognize the importance of the task. We don't underestimate the challenges. We are determined to stay until the job is done; until Afghanistan can secure itself; and until the Afghan forces are ready to take full control. We hope this day will come soon, and everything we do – including this week's conferences – is designed to help reach that point. Afghanistan, fortunately, has many friends. The U.K. is proud to be in the front rank, despite the cost and sacrifice involved, and to be working as partners with our friends in Turkey and in the region.

Source:hurriyetdailynews.com/