Beyond Berlin - Afghanistan: Promise & Fullfillment
Ambassador Said T. Jawad
05/25/2004
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Please allow me to thank the Middle East Institute
and the American Institute on Afghanistan Studies for organizing
this conference.
I would like to begin with a story. Two years
ago, along a dusty road in Kunduz, in northern Afghanistan,
a young man caught the attention of President Karzai: He tossed
a bouquet of flowers at his car. When the president glanced
his way, the young man pointed to the pitted road at his feet
and shouted: "Fix the road!"
That plea symbolized then, as now, the chief desire
of our nation as it picks itself up after 25 years of war and
destruction. Afghans measure success in nation-building and
progress in war against terrorism by improvement in their everyday
life and security. At the donors' conference in Berlin, we presented
a detailed report on how to secure Afghanistan's future through
international partnership and the security that Afghanistan’s
stability and prosperity brings to the world.
Years of invasion, war and misery have made us
tough, bedrock people. We are known for our ability to fight
and pray. Now, with the partnership of the international community,
we are proving our skill and determination for reconciliation,
reconstruction and building a civil society in Afghanistan.
Historically, Afghanistan has been at the crossroads
of Asia and served as a bridge between civilizations in the
Indian Subcontinent, the Middle East, China and Europe. Today,
my country is passing through another crossroads of history.
One path rises to prosperity and democracy, bridging civilizations.
The other path descends into human rights violations, extremism,
corruption, narcotics and ultimately the breeding of terrorists.
We have with certainty chosen the path of prosperity
and democracy and done so with a spirit of national pride as
shown in our new Constitution that is the most progressive charter
in the region, and our preparation for the upcoming national
democratic elections in September 2004.
In partnership with the United States, and led
by President Karzai's vision, our people are experiencing new
freedoms and unprecedented opportunities. Afghan women are returning
to school and to the workplace. They are participating in the
political process. We are experiencing successes in education,
health care and development of a market economy. Major cities
flourish with business and reconstruction. The Afghan private
sector has now access to newly established international banking
services. The Kabul-Kandahar highway has been reconstructed.
Families are being reunited as close to three
million refugees have returned to their homes and villages.
We have adopted new laws on investment, banking, political parties,
civic organizations, and freedom of expression. Consequently,
14 independent and privately owned radio and TV stations are
operating in different parts of the country, including stations
run by women for women in provinces such as Kandahar and Kunduz.
Moreover, there are more than 270 newspapers and periodicals
published. Women are acquiring a strong voice in the media.
About 5.6 million children have returned to school.
We need to build thousands of schools. Only 29 percent of classrooms
in Afghanistan have roofs. Investments of $2.1 billion per year
will provide us the basic infrastructure for transportation,
communications, mining, power, irrigation, housing and urban
development. An annual investment of $750 million in security,
rule of law, judicial and administrative reform and private-sector
development will guarantee an environment conducive to sustainable
growth. Our judges now are paid less than $40 a month.
Our goals are very modest and realistic. We plan
to double our gross domestic product (GDP) per capita to just
$500 in the next seven years. This is an investment the international
community can afford to make and cannot afford to bypass. These
investments will not only further stabilize Afghanistan and
the region, but also over the long haul will lessen the defense
and security expenditures of our global partners. It now costs
more than $13 billion yearly to maintain the anti-terror Coalition
and International Security Assistance Forces in my country.
With a portion of this sum invested in rebuilding Afghanistan's
national institutions, we will be able to take full responsibility
for many services now provided by our international partners.
The fight against terrorism is not just military,
it is economic. Investing in Afghanistan's future is good economics.
Return on limited international investment in Afghanistan has
been tremendously good, as evidenced by an economic growth rate
of 30% last year and continuing at 20% this year, according
to the World Bank. Afghanistan is emerging as model. Our success
will affect the aspiration of people in other arena of the global
war against terrorism and tyranny. To continue this progress
and ensure a sustainable economic recovery, we need an average
growth of real and legal GDP of 9% annually over the next seven
years. This can not be sustained, however, without sizeable
investments by the international community.
Slow action could be more costly for all of us.
Consider our common fight against illegal narcotics. The cost
of fighting this deadly trade that destroys lives all over the
globe and feeds terrorism and warlordism in Afghanistan has
increased significantly.
While there has been significant progress in rebuilding
state institutions and stimulating economic growth in Kabul
and other major cities, lack of human capital and resources
continue to undermine my government's ability to deliver services
to remote areas. This has deprived some segment of our people
from the peace dividends. After an agonizingly slow start, the
process of demobilization, disarmament and reintegration (DDR)
is gaining momentum. DDR must be implemented. We will not be
able to build a civil society and establish rule of law in Afghanistan
as long as guns rule.
Please allow me to conclude by telling you another
story. Last September, a girl’s school in Logar, a province
south of Kabul, was set on fire by terrorists. The Moghul Khail
School, consisting of two large tents, was set ablaze at midnight.
The next day, every little girl, every student showed up at
the school. They sat next to the ashes of their burnt class
rooms, under the blazing sun, and insisted on continuing with
their lessons. This is the spirit of the Afghan people, ladies
and gentlemen. Afghans are determined to rebuild their country.
Our people value the close cooperation and cherish
the enduring partnership forged between our nations. We are
very grateful for the pledges made in Berlin. It shows the confidence
of the international community to our vision and plans. We knew
that the hearts of the international community are open to Afghans,
we appreciate when their check books open, too. After Berlin,
it is time to front-load investments in building national institutions
to answer the plea of that young Afghan along the road for improvement
in his life and security.
Thank you.
