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Berlin hosts key Afghan aid talks
Berlin, Mar 31: Officials from 60 nations are gathering in Berlin for a conference to discuss development aid for Afghanistan.
Berlin, Mar 31: Officials from 60 nations are gathering in Berlin for a conference to discuss development aid for Afghanistan.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai is expected to ask the two-day meeting for $27.5bn over the next seven years.
But analysts say the amount pledged in will be much less - with Afghan officials admitting that they will be lucky to get even half of that sum.
The UN has warned that Afghanistan is in danger of reverting to chaos unless it received sufficient foreign aid.
Without it, the UN says that war-ravaged Afghanistan - one of the world's poorest countries - could become entirely dependent on the illegal drugs trade.
Since the fall of the Taleban regime at the end of 2001, development has been slow, with insecurity making much of the south-east Afghanistan off-limits to the world community.
The Berlin conference follows a first donor conference held in Japan in 2002 and will consider a report submitted by the Afghan government and institutions like the World Bank.
Bureau Report
But analysts say the amount pledged in will be much less - with Afghan officials admitting that they will be lucky to get even half of that sum.
The UN has warned that Afghanistan is in danger of reverting to chaos unless it received sufficient foreign aid.
Without it, the UN says that war-ravaged Afghanistan - one of the world's poorest countries - could become entirely dependent on the illegal drugs trade.
Since the fall of the Taleban regime at the end of 2001, development has been slow, with insecurity making much of the south-east Afghanistan off-limits to the world community.
The Berlin conference follows a first donor conference held in Japan in 2002 and will consider a report submitted by the Afghan government and institutions like the World Bank.
Bureau Report