Spindelegger: "Focus on Afghanistan’s own responsibility"
Foreign Minister opens Afghanistan Conference in Baden
Vienna, 26 February 2010 - "Disappointment over the sometimes unsatisfactory progress in Afghanistan should not discourage us. The international community made clear in London that it will consistently continue its engagement. Afghanistan still needs international help. The aim of this conference is to make a concrete contribution to this", said Foreign Minister Spindelegger as he opened the "Afghanistan Implementation Colloquium" in Baden together with Liechtenstein’s Foreign Minister Aurelia Frick and OSCE Secretary General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut.
The "Afghanistan Implementation Colloquium" is a continuation of the international Afghanistan conference in London, and serves to prepare the Afghanistan meeting in Kabul. The event is attended by international Afghanistan experts and several representatives of the Afghan Government and civil society. The Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul and the US Ambassador in Kabul will be participating at the conference via videolink.
"In all our support efforts, it is important to pursue concrete and realistic objectives. There must be progress especially in the areas of the rule of law, good governance, the fight against corruption, and the development of state structures. To achieve this, however, Afghanistan must assume greater responsibility. Therefore, I am pleased to see so many Afghan participants and representatives of the civil society in Baden today, because international support can only be successful if it is backed by local political and civil structures", said Spindelegger.
Austria will actively participate in the international stabilization efforts: "Together with the Interior Ministry, we envisage a dispatch of up to five police officers. We will thus be helping Afghanistan build up police structures and strengthen the rule of law. In addition, Austria makes financial contributions to the programmes specially developed by the UN and the OSCE for Afghanistan, for instance 1 million Euros from the foreign disaster aid fund for OCHA, the humanitarian organisation of the United Nations", said the Foreign Minister.
Contact:
Federal Ministry for
European and International Affairs
Press Department
Tel.: ++43 (0) 50 1150-3262, 4549, 4550, 3739
Fax: ++43 (0) 50 1159-213
mailto:abti3(at)bmeia.gv.at
