Your Excellency President Karzai,
Vice Presidents Marshall Fahim and Arsala,
Distinguished Ministers,
Distinguished Ambassadors and Heads of Delegations,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Transitional Government is embarking on the last stretch of an intense and dramatic two-year journey that begun in June of 2002. It does so with tools of governance that were only an ambitious dream at the time, and will soon be part of its core legacy to the future elected government of Afghanistan: A unanimously adopted constitution and some important and progressive legislation such as the recently adopted Media Law; fledgling security institutions – the ANA and the national police - that are being tested, and successfully so, in difficult circumstances in various parts of the country; a vision for the country’s development and a portfolio of national programs to implement it, to name just a few of the achievements of the past 20 months.

Progress in developing a blueprint for the country’s development has been particularly remarkable. Let us recall that, in this respect, the Bonn agreement limited itself to a vague and laconic statement requesting the international community’s assistance with reconstruction and recovery. In stark contrast, two weeks ago the Berlin Conference endorsed a detailed agenda of measures and actions adopted by the Government that spans institution-building, good governance, public administration, fiscal management, private sector development, economic and social development, the rule of law, human rights, gender, disarmament, security and counter-narcotics.

In reviewing the Transitional Government’s assets, one must, of course, stress the special relationship that has developed between the people of Afghanistan and the international community. I will not dwell on it, as this new edition of the Afghan Development Forum provides yet another vivid illustration of that relationship, and the generous multi-year pledge made in Berlin is witness to the lasting commitment that underpins it. I will, however, emphasize how important it is that this partnership retain its unique quality of combining a sense of shared responsibility and respect for Afghan ownership and leadership.

As impressive as the catalogue of assets that the Transitional Government has managed to acquire in a short period of time is the list of challenges that it must face in the very short term. One cannot overstate the magnitude of the obligations that the participants in the Berlin Conference have assumed in expressing their determination – and I quote the Berlin Declaration – “to complete the Bonn process by creating the conditions under which the people of Afghanistan can freely determine their own political future … through free and fair elections in a secure and peaceful environment”. In this regard, we welcome warmly the public launching by President Karzai, two days ago, of the nationwide DDR campaign. This program is not overly ambitious – reintegration opportunities exist for those mujahideen, soldiers and officers who join it – and it provides an opportunity for factional leaders, inside and outside government, to confirm their political will to embrace democratic politics. Private militias are outlawed in this country since the presidential decree of 2 December 2002 establishing the ANA. They cannot be allowed to shape in any way the outcome of the 2004 elections or become embedded in the future institutions of a democratic Afghanistan.

And while on the challenges of holding free and fair elections, I will not fail to use this opportunity to reiterate once again the pressing need for the international community to provide, without any further delay, the security assistance that the State of Afghanistan requires in order to face its security obligations under the Constitution ahead of the election, during the election and beyond.

The year 2004 will be the year of the first democratic elections in Afghanistan, like 2003 was the year of its first democratic constitution. But, like 2003, it cannot be only this. It is the daunting but inescapable, and often thankless task of transitional administrations to do everything at the same time, if imperfectly. As Mr. Brahimi used to say, they must lace their shoes while walking, and do some running too. Thus the urgency of the electoral process should not highjack the institution-building, reconstruction and counter-narcotics agenda that is so critical to the present and future legitimacy and authority of the new Afghan state.

To make this multidimensional approach possible, donor governments should be encouraged to provide greater direct support to the government’s budget and to the ARTF as a tool for the implementation of the Workplan endorsed in Berlin and in Securing Afghanistan’s Future. I would also like to point out the importance of assisting the government to roll out to the provinces the progress it has made in developing the central administration. The government’s approach of national programmes, designed from Kabul, but implemented in the regions, is starting to bear fruit but still needs considerable support. I would particularly like to emphasize the importance of the Afghanistan Stabilization Program as a way of building the capacity of local administrations to deliver security, governance and reconstruction to those long neglected districts that have been so far bypassed by the dividends of the Bonn agreement and find themselves most exposed to extremist and factional violence.

Let me echo what was said by President Karzai and Doctor Ghani and stress the importance of a systematic approach to combating poverty. Poverty reduction and sustainable livelihoods, particularly in rural areas, is the key to many ongoing priority undertakings: the reintegration of returning refugees; disarmament, demobilization and re-integration of combatants; preventing rapid and unplanned urbanization and further expansion of the narcotics industry. Education, and in particular primary education and vocational training, are also an integral part of this approach. Many UN agencies are already working in this field and several UN agencies are also working with the most vulnerable - the very poor, the disabled - and will help the government to implement a longer-term social policy. In the future we will increasingly need to support the government in the development of an overall poverty reduction strategy and, this year, the UN will prepare a UN Development Assistance Framework that will facilitate joint programming within our programmes and agencies in support of national poverty reduction strategies and strengthen the coherence of our work.

One last word on the issue of accountability. The solemn commitment given to the Workplan by the Government and the international community’s multi-year response are a remarkable feature of the relationship between the two partners. It would not have been possible without the mutual confidence that they have developed over the past 26 months. It will last if, in spite of shifting priorities on the world stage, this compact is further strengthened as the Workplan is steadily implemented and properly supported. Rightly, the Government expects to be taken at its word and held responsible for the implementation of the benchmarks it has chosen. The international community’s commitments too must be kept - pledges must be turned into disbursements, and promises of political and security support fulfilled.

No doubt that the Afghanistan Development Forum, like the Implementation Group before it, will continue to serve to build this confidence, this sense of shared responsibility and trust.

Thank you.

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