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World promises 4.5 bln dlrs to rebuild Afghanistan
World leaders pledged 4.5 billion dollars to help Afghanistan rise out of the ruins of war, drawing praise from the month-old Afghan leadership working to end the misery of their people.
World leaders pledged 4.5 billion dollars to help Afghanistan rise out of the ruins of war, drawing praise from the month-old Afghan leadership working to end the misery of their people.
We are happy with the result of the conference we had Monday and Tuesday, interim leader Hamid Karzai told the Japan National Press Club, shortly after the two-day Afghan Donors' Conference ended.
I also hope the pledges are made true in the coming days so we can take the process of reconstruction forward, he said.
Donors have promised to deliver 1.8 billion dollars this year to meet Afghanistan's immediate needs, and in a tangible sign that money was beginning to reach the bankrupt administration the first wages were being handed over to civil servants in Kabul who have not been paid in seven months. The recent history of Afghanistan was an endless list of misery for Afghans, in which Afghan people were the first victims of terrorism, said Karzai.
But now Afghanistan must look to the future. From now till five months, we need to lay the foundation politically and economically for the Afghan people to lead a normal life ... We are almost beginning from scratch, he said.
International leaders echoed afghan praise that the amount of 4.5 billion pledged over five years exceeded all expectations -- even though initial estimates by the World Bank and other lending agencies has put the cost of Afghanistan's reconstruction over the next decade at 15 billion dollars.
Bureau Report
I also hope the pledges are made true in the coming days so we can take the process of reconstruction forward, he said.
Donors have promised to deliver 1.8 billion dollars this year to meet Afghanistan's immediate needs, and in a tangible sign that money was beginning to reach the bankrupt administration the first wages were being handed over to civil servants in Kabul who have not been paid in seven months. The recent history of Afghanistan was an endless list of misery for Afghans, in which Afghan people were the first victims of terrorism, said Karzai.
But now Afghanistan must look to the future. From now till five months, we need to lay the foundation politically and economically for the Afghan people to lead a normal life ... We are almost beginning from scratch, he said.
International leaders echoed afghan praise that the amount of 4.5 billion pledged over five years exceeded all expectations -- even though initial estimates by the World Bank and other lending agencies has put the cost of Afghanistan's reconstruction over the next decade at 15 billion dollars.
Bureau Report