Together with Afghanistan, the goal is to give concrete shape to the long-term engagement of the international community and to advance the broader political process in the country.
The International Afghanistan Conference to set the course for Afghanistan’s future
In the run-up to the Afghanistan Conference in Bonn, Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai arrived in Bonn on 2 December. Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle welcomed him at the airport: he said that Germany was delighted to be hosting the Conference and thus making a contribution towards stability in Afghanistan and towards a bright future for that country.
“We are looking forward to this major Conferenceâ€, said Westerwelle. He went on to say that the key message it would send was that the international community intended to continue supporting Afghanistan on a long-term basis. Karzai emphasized that his return to Bonn ten years after the first Afghanistan Conference in that city was a very special occasion for him. Germany was an old friend of Afghanistan and, especially during the last ten years, had played a prominent role in the efforts to help his country and “had made sacrifices for its stabilizationâ€.
Ten years after the Bonn Conference of 2001, the international community is meeting in Bonn again on 5 December 2011. Together with Afghanistan, the goal is to give concrete shape to the long-term joint engagement and to advance the further political process in the country.
Following the handover of responsibility for Afghanistan’s security to the Afghan Government and the completion of the withdrawal of all international combat troops in 2014, the aim is to ensure that Afghanistan remains stable and develops economically.
“Afghanistan must become a stable community that is no longer a threat to peaceâ€, wrote Westerwelle in a joint newspaper article with his Afghan colleague Zalmai Rassoul on 2 December.
The Bonn Conference will focus on three issues:
- the civil aspects of the process of transferring responsibility to the Government of Afghanistan by 2014,
- the long-term engagement of the international community in Afghanistan after 2014 and
- the political process that is intended to lead to the long-term stabilization of the country.
An intra-Afghan process with regional support
This political process must progress on two levels: the reconciliation of the country’s various population groups must remain a process that takes place inside Afghanistan. Renunciation of violence, cutting of ties to international terrorism,
and respect for the Afghan Constitution including its human rights provisions are essential guidelines.At the same time this process must be secured by Afghanistan’s neighbours and the regional powers. The stabilization of Afghanistan is set in the context of the political stability of the entire region, to which all countries in the region contribute.
The conference also highlights the shift of emphasis in the international community’s Afghanistan policy from the military to the political aspect.
Conference Conclusions
- Conference Conclusions English – International conference Bonn 2011
- Conference Conclusion German Translation
- Conference_Conclusions_-_International_Afghanistan_Conference_Bonn_2011_Dari
- Conference_Conclusions_-_International_Afghanistan_Conference_Bonn_2011_Pashto
Participants
Statements
- Afghanistan – President Hamid Karzai PDF | 252Â KB
- Afghanistan – Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul PDF | 25Â KB
- Afghan Civil Soeciety Delegation – Statement 1 PDF | 53Â KB
- Aga Khan Development Network PDF | 77Â KB
- Armenia PDF | 37Â KB
- Asian Development Bank PDF | 11Â KB
- Australia PDF | 73Â KB
- Austria PDF | 84Â KB
- Bangladesh PDF | 28Â KB
- Bosnia and Herzegovina PDF | 34Â KB
- Brazil PDF | 101Â KB
- Canada PDF | 8Â KB
- China PDF | 13Â KB
- Collective Security Treaty Organisation PDF | 579Â KB
- Colombia PDF | 23Â KB
- Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia PDF | 18Â KB
- Croatia PDF | 51Â KB
- Cyprus PDF | 67Â KB
- Czech Republic PDF | 39Â KB
- Denmark PDF | 13Â KB
- Economic Cooperation Organization PDF | 23Â KB
- Egypt PDF | 82Â KB
- Estonia PDF | 32Â KB
- European Union PDF | 58Â KB
- Finland PDF | 15Â KB
- Georgia PDF | 44Â KB
- Germany – Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel PDF | 38Â KB
- Germany – Federal Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle PDF | 34Â KB
- Greece PDF | 41Â KB
- Hungary PDF | 55Â KB
- Iceland PDF | 14Â KB
- India PDF | 38Â KB
- International Monetary Fund PDF | 332Â KB
- Iran PDF | 43Â KB
- Ireland PDF | 63Â KB
- Islamic Development Bank PDF | 70Â KB
- Italy PDF | 54Â KB
- Japan PDF | 53Â KB
- Kazakhstan PDF | 19Â KB
- Kyrgyzstan PDF | 57Â KB
- Latvia PDF | 34Â KB
- Liechtenstein PDF | 119Â KB
- Lithuania PDF | 15Â KB
- Malaysia PDF | 64Â KB
- Malta PDF | 16Â KB
- Mexiko PDF | 5Â KB
- Mongolia PDF | 9Â KB
- Montenegro PDF | 60Â KB
- Netherlands PDF | 48Â KB
- New Zealand PDF | 42Â KB
- Norway PDF | 44Â KB
- Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation PDF | 62Â KB
- Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe PDF | 81Â KB
- Philippines PDF | 48Â KB
- Poland PDF | 67Â KB
- Qatar PDF | 52Â KB
- Romania PDF | 75Â KB
- Russian Federation (english) PDF | 30Â KB
- Russian Federation (german) PDF | 22Â KB
- Russian Federation (russian) PDF | 64Â KB
- Saudi Arabia PDF | 77Â KB
- Slovakia PDF | 45Â KB
- Slovenia PDF | 128Â KB
- South Africa PDF | 4Â KB
- Spain PDF | 30Â KB
- Switzerland PDF | 73Â KB
- Tajikistan PDF | 68Â KB
- Thailand PDF | 22Â KB
- Turkey PDF | 60Â KB
- Ukraine PDF | 18Â KB
- United Arab Emirates PDF | 22Â KB
- United Kingdom PDF | 19Â KB
- United Nations PDF | 83Â KB
- United States of America PDF | 44Â KB
Further Documents
- Message of Afghan Civil Society
- Message of Afghan Civil Society (German)
- Message of Afghan Civil Society (Pashto)
- Message of Afghan Civil Society (Dari)
- International Contact Group: Joint Non-Paper Working Groups Transition and Long-term Engagement
- Brussels Nine Action Points
- Outcomes of the Istanbul Conference, 2 November 2011
Stay Connected with Us