John Gormley
Ceist:243 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will report on his meeting with the Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, in Kabul; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10114/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 30 March 2004
Ceisteanna (130)
Freagraí scríofa
On 17 February 2004, as President of the Council of Ministers, I led an EU Troika mission to Afghanistan, during which separate meetings were held with President Karzai and with Foreign Minister Abdullah. The Troika expressed to its Afghan interlocutors the great importance that the EU attaches to achieving progress in the reconstruction of Afghanistan and the Union's commitment to working with the Afghan government and people in the period ahead. The Troika congratulated the President on the adoption of a new constitution and discussed the next stages of Afghanistan's development, including political and security issues.
Elections this year in Afghanistan will constitute the next and final step in implementation of the agreement on arrangements for the re-establishment of permanent Government institutions in accordance with the Bonn Agreement of December 2001. During the Troika, I confirmed that the EU is prepared to send an electoral observation mission and, as a first step, an exploratory mission. The exploratory mission returned last week and a report of its conclusions is awaited. For elections to be credible, a successful registration process is needed, and a stable security environment. As the House will be aware, President Karzai has announced in recent days that presidential and parliamentary elections will take place next September.
Stabilising the security situation in Afghanistan is essential for creating an environment conducive to dealing with all the other pressing issues, such as counter-narcotics, reconstruction and the electoral process. The expansion of the international security assistance force, ISAF, under the authority of the United Nations Security Council, is a demonstration of the international community's commitment to Afghanistan and will play a key role in assisting the Afghan Transitional Authority in providing security for the electoral process. At the same time, security is a shared responsibility, and it is important that the Afghan government approves and implements a comprehensive national security framework, and that both the army and the Ministry of Defence be more representative and reflect the multi-ethnic composition of Afghanistan.
It is important that all irregular forces are disarmed and demobilised or integrated into the national army. I welcome the steps already taken towards this end, but more needs to be done so that the future Afghan government has unified armed forces at its disposal.
Ireland, together with our EU partners, fully supports President Karzai's uncompromising stance on the illicit cultivation of and trafficking in drugs. It is vital that the international community and the Afghan people work together to eliminate the production, trafficking and consumption of opium in particular. During the Troika meeting with President Karzai on 17 February 2004, we discussed the importance of increasing the risk of penalty to producers and traffickers to prevent illicit narcotics activity in Afghanistan.
I will attend the conference, "Afghanistan and the International Community — A Partnership for the Future", which takes place in Berlin on 31 March-1 April 2004. The conference will provide a welcome opportunity to review the achievements of the Afghan Transitional Authority and of the international community in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. The conference will also ensure, beyond the Bonn process, that Afghanistan's development requirements will continue to be addressed.
The EU has made a strong commitment to the future stability and development of Afghanistan, and the European Commission has recently signed a €79.5 million aid package to support the ongoing reconstruction of the country. Taking together contributions from member states and the Community budget, the EU provided more than €850 million in 2002 and €835 million in 2003 to help Afghanistan. At the International Conference on Reconstruction Assistance to Afghanistan, which took place in Tokyo on 21 January 2002, Ireland pledged €12 million in reconstruction assistance to Afghanistan over three years. I am pleased to note that this has now been fully disbursed.
As Presidency, I will deliver a statement at the conference on behalf of the EU and its member states. The statement will emphasise the EU's continuing firm commitment to the reconstruction of Afghanistan and underline the fact that the EU will continue to be one of the major donors towards these costs.
There is a small number of Irish NGOs and individuals who are performing selfless work in advancing Afghanistan's reconstruction, sometimes in dangerous circumstances. I met some of them when I was in Kabul. We very much appreciate their endeavours.