Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG): Good morning. Thank you for being here and for those of you who were here yesterday I would like to apologize most sincerely for having missed our appointment. I was at the Loya Jirga site and was held up until very late. I don’t have anything very special to say except that I expect to be leaving Afghanistan immediately after this Loya Jirga. I have been here two years these have been two very busy years. I think that they have been years in which Afghanistan has accomplished a great deal, if you look to the past. But if you look to the future - what is left to be done is much more than what has already been achieved.

I think that Afghanistan is trying to do two things. One, rebuild the institutions of state. The second is reconstruct what had been destroyed by 23 years of conflict. I think that the first step in both these two fields has already been taken. I also think that progress in both these two fields is too slow. I very much hope that after this Loya Jirga the tempo of achievement will be accelerated. I have the need to say that the United Nations is engaged in supporting the efforts of the people of Afghanistan in both these fields and will remain engaged.

I also have the need to say that for the people of Afghanistan the best, most important requirement that we show to them that progress is being made, is that their security is better insured than it is at the moment. And there again, I think that the Government of Afghanistan, and their partners – in particular NATO, who are now responsible for ISAF need to do better and more than has been done.

Lastly, I am delighted to see your numbers have increased. Two years ago there were not that many Afghan journalists and certainly as many Afghan media - that is a sign of progress. I would like to thank you for your cooperation over these two years and wish the media in Afghanistan a brighter future and also a contribution in the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

Thank you very much, questions?

Question: We are not yet at the end of the Bonn process and you are leaving at such a crucial time during the process. How sure are you about it?

SRSG: I am sure I am leaving. I hope I will leave after the constitution is adopted. The second thing is of course I am proud. I have been privileged to take part in this process until now. But this is not a personal enterprise or project. This is a project of the United Nations on behalf of the international community, in cooperation with the people of Afghanistan. So the departure of one person is not going to change anything. The United Nations is here, the international community is here and most importantly the people of Afghanistan are here.

Question: The Bonn process has been slow. Do you think that the first part of the Bonn process has not been successful – or has failed?

SRSG: Half and half. I think is has been reasonably successful, but I think it is important for people who are involved in the implementation of Bonn, sit down and review what has happened until now in a critical manner, to see where we have done very well, where perhaps half and half and in some areas where we have not done well at all. So that we correct any mistakes that have been made and as I said accelerate the pace of the implementation of the process.

Question: You have said that presidential election should be on time and the parliamentary election should take place later. You mentioned security as the reason, what do you think about that?

SRSG: Yes I think that the registration process has started a bit late and because of security it is moving very slowly. As a matter of fact we are discussing now with the Minister of the Interior, Minister of Defence and ISAF of how we can provide better security so that we accelerate the registration process. In fact even the presidential election will not be taking place in June. I do not think it will be possible. But certainly at the end of the summer or beginning of the fall, if security improves and protection is available for the teams that are going to do the registration, it will be possible.

The second point is that it is relatively easier to organize a presidential election than a parliamentary election. That is why I say that it will be possible to organize presidential election [next] year. But that parliamentary, free and fair [next year] it will have to be postponed. As you know there is a view that says if it’s not possible to organize parliamentary elections [next] year, let’s postpone both elections – presidential and parliamentary.

Question: Why is reconstruction slow. Can you tell us what was the reason for them being so slow and what were your tough areas of mission when you were staying here?

SRSG: Why has it been slow? Because the Government itself was not equipped to work faster. Just remember for several months there was no telephone in the country. The government has not been able to communicate with the provinces. It is only now that there is some communication system being established. Administration, even in Kabul, was extremely weak and practically non-existent outside the capital. I think we have got to also recognize that in the creation of some very important institutions like the Army and the police there is some resistance from people who are not interested in seeing these national Army and police replace the existing factional institutions.

As for what was difficult for us, some day things are easy, the next they are difficult. It has been up and down. This is how things are in a post-conflict situation.

Question: What’s your assessment of the funding needs - taking the current donor contributions and government estimates, and how long will it take Afghanistan to get out of this current quagmire of war?

SRSG: As you know the Ministry of Finance is conducting, in cooperation with the Asian Development Bank and World Bank, a new assessment of the needs for reconstruction. The Ministry of Finance is also telling Afghanistan’s partners, the donors, that it will make easier if the Government could be given an indication of how much is available, not for one year, but five to 10 years so that it can plan its reconstruction work. I think the Ministry of Finance, and not only the Ministry, but everybody is pointing out that the assessment that was made two years ago was done very fast, and the numbers that came out of that assessment were not very realistic. The other day Minister Ashraf Ghani gave an example to the Loya Jirga; an assessment for the cost of the rebuilding of the road from Kabul to Kandahar was USD35 million – the real price is USD350 million, ten times more. The other point is that the Government is very much aware that they have to start generating their own resources and they have committed this year to generate USD200 million. I think they will do it. I think that the Ministry of Finance, rough estimate, they will come with more precise numbers soon, but they are talking about USD30 billion over 10 years.

Last point, I would like to express my sorrow and condolences to the people of Iran for this catastrophic earthquake in Bam.

Question: Some of the people were not so optimistic about the DDR process, how positive are you about the process in Afghanistan?

SRSG: I perfectly understand that the people are not happy with the pace of the DDR programme. We were expecting it to be difficult, and it has proved to be extremely difficult. DDR as practice by the United Nations everywhere – is a voluntary programme where the factions cooperate to disarm themselves. In Afghanistan, DDR is not about collecting weapons from individuals. DDR is about helping the factional armies phase-out, so that they leave place for the national army. So it is very much tied up to the programme of the creation of the national army and the reform of the Ministry of Defence. As long as the reform of the national army is slow, as long as the reform of the Ministry of Defence is slow, the DDR process will remain slow. One of the things we are discussing now, with the Ministry of Defence and the Americans – as lead nation assisting with the creation of the national army, is ways we can expedite the whole process.

Question: Who will be your successor and will there be new projects for Afghanistan?

SRSG: I don’t know who my successor is going to be – he hasn’t been selected yet. [What kind of new projects?]. There will be continuity with the United Nations and its programmes, but as regards new changes you will need to ask him [new SRSG].

Question: Do you have a message for those who continue the instability along our borders?

SRSG: Well I think my message is people of Afghanistan need patience and determination. I met with our [UN] national staff this morning and I told them that in every post-conflict situation you have people who have interests in the continuation of the problem – not in the solution. I think these people are a very small minority, but can do a lot of harm, and it is the duty of the people, Government and partners of Afghanistan to oppose them with a great deal of determination.

Question: As you have been working in a very difficult situation in Afghanistan, how do you assess the work in Afghanistan and what is you impression of the work that has been done?

SRSG: Difficult. I think that the people of Afghanistan are absolutely tired and fed-up with wars and they would like to put that period behind them and participate in the reconstruction of their country. I am confident that in spite of all the difficulties and all the danger that still exists, the wish and the will of the people of Afghanistan to have peace will be fulfilled.

Question: What is the UN plan to speed up the reconstruction process in Afghanistan?

SRSG: This is not a plan of the United Nations alone. I think this is really a plan, in the first place, for the Afghan Government. One of your colleagues has mentioned a while ago – the idea of a Bonn II conference. In fact we have distributed a discussion paper to all the ministers and a few others in Afghanistan and to all the partners of Afghanistan. The title of that paper is “How to accelerate the implementation of the Bonn process”. I think that you’ve got to accelerate the creation of the Army and Police, DDR, reform of the Ministry of Interior, reform of the Ministry of Defence, reform of the NDS, and then reform of the rest of government. And that will lead to the reform of the rest of the government. I think it is in this way that the Government is going to project its authority all over the country, and it is in this manner that they are going to ensure security and facilitate reconstruction.

Question: Your experience from Afghanistan. How long do you think the active participation of the United Nations will be needed in Afghanistan?

SRSG: The UN will be here for a long, long time, but it is not going to be here in the same manner. Certainly UNAMA is not going to be here forever. I hope that once we have really established this Bonn process firmly on the ground, there will be no need for UNAMA. But UNICEF will be here much longer. They will be needed for much longer – the schools, vaccinations. I also hope FAO will be here and does better in the future than it does now because agriculture here in Afghanistan is going to need support for quite some time.

Question: On behalf of my colleagues I would like to thank for the sincere cooperation of UNAMA led by your Excellency. And I am sure you will not refrain from giving any kind of assistance to Afghanistan, even if you are not in Afghanistan. And I wish you all the very, very best.

SRSG: Thank you and all your colleagues and Afghan media, thank you very much.

_______________