It gives me
great pleasure to express my sincere congratulations
to the President on his well-deserved election to the
presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-
ninth session. We are confident that his wisdom and
experience will ensure constructive and fruitful
deliberations on the very important and vital issues
before the Assembly. I should like to assure him of the
full cooperation of my delegation to that end. I also
express my deep appreciation to his predecessor and
my gratitude to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his
competent and excellent leadership of the Organization.
I am delighted to report to the Assembly that
Afghanistan has achieved a significant milestone
with the successful conclusion of its presidential
elections, including the important task of recounting
the votes. The new President, Mr. Mohammad Ashraf
Ghani Ahmadzai, will be sworn in on 29 September.
Afghanistan is witnessing the transfer of power from one
elected administration to the next. While Afghanistan
faces marked challenges, we are confident that the new
Government, which enjoys the full backing of the vast
majority of Afghans, will strive to bring about political
security and socioeconomic prosperity to Afghanistan
and, by extension, to the region and beyond.
It was more than a decade ago that many countries
of the world joined the Afghan people in their struggle
for peace and fought against the forces of extremism
and terrorism. In that regard, we have collectively
achieved tangible results. Unfortunately, however,
the menace of terrorism and extremism continues to
threaten security, socioeconomic development and
peace, not only in Afghanistan but also in the region.
There is an urgent need for a comprehensive response
to the threats from terrorism, drugs and extremism at
the regional and international levels.
Today, Afghanistan has credible political
institutions, an elected Parliament, a Constitution
and elected provincial councils supported by the
brave Afghan National Security Forces. The people
of Afghanistan have witnessed many positive
achievements in the past decade, including in the fields
of socioeconomic development, education — especially
education for our girls — health, communications
and information technology, and the promotion and
protection of human rights, including particularly
the rights of women. Afghanistan has one of the
most dynamic media scenes in the region, propelled
by the freedom of expression that the Afghan people
have enjoyed for more than a decade. We should also
underscore the pioneering spirit of our youth, who are
behind much of the innovativeness and diversity of
thought in academia and in the private sector.
The Afghan people appreciate and thank the
international community for the vital support that it has
given the country to build security, peace and prosperity
in Afghanistan. We look forward to continued mutual
cooperation with the international community to
protect our achievements and ensure the sustainability
of a strong partnership.
The transfer of security responsibilities from the
international forces to the Afghan National Security
Forces for the whole of Afghanistan, launched in the
summer of 2011, will be achieved by the end of 2014.
As we speak, Afghan forces are providing security
independently across the country, despite increasing
acts of terrorism inside Afghanistan, which are being
committed with support from terrorists from beyond
our borders. The growing levels of violent extremism
and the alarming developments in the Middle East and
other parts of the world make international support
for the NATO mission in Afghanistan even more
imperative.
Parallel to our ongoing efforts to enhance the
capacity and capabilities of our National Security
Forces, the Afghan Government is also pursuing a
dialogue to achieve peace through political means and
reconciliation. We have put in place clear conditions
in order for that process to be accepted by the Afghan
people. For instance, we demand the renunciation of
violence and respect for Afghanistan’s Constitution, as
it guarantees full and equal rights to Afghan men and
women and is the only tool for the preservation of our
collective achievements of the past decade.
Afghanistan strongly believes in comprehensive,
long-term, friendly and good-neighbourly relations
between Pakistan and Afghanistan in the fight against
terrorism and the strengthening of peace and stability
between the two nations in the region. At the same time,
we would like to express our serious concern over the
rocket attacks by Pakistani forces onto Afghanistan’s
soil. The continuation of such attacks is unacceptable
to Afghanistan. We hope that the Government of
Pakistan, considering our common interests in ensuring
peace and stability, will put an end to any kind of acts
that could endanger the prospects for good-neighbourly
relations and will act to protect cooperation and trust
between our two nations.
The Afghan Government is keen to reduce the
negative economic impact of the security transition and
to move towards sustainable economic development in
at least three ways.
First, we will focus on the development of
agriculture and the agribusiness sector, where more
than 70 per cent of our population is directly or
indirectly engaged, with enormous potential for growth
and employment generation.
Secondly, Afghanistan is estimated to hold trillions
of dollars worth of natural resources, including minerals
and hydrocarbons, representing a guaranteed source of
wealth and income for generations to come. We already
have several State-owned and private companies from
China, India, the United Kingdom, Canada, Turkey, the
United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan and other countries,
in addition to Afghan companies, expressing a keen
interest in investing billions of dollars.
Thirdly, Afghanistan is now on the eve of a
transformative decade, from 2015-2024, which will
be a multidimensional process that will have security,
political and economic ramifications. Therefore,
the pledges made at the 2012 Tokyo and Chicago
Conferences will maintain the Afghan Government’s
overall socioeconomic efforts. Afghanistan critically
needs the continuation of that support from its
international partners over the next few years.
Afghanistan’s report on its progress in achieving
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), published
in late 2013, shows that the progress with regard to most
of the MDG targets, in particular those related to health
and universal primary education, is commendable.
Despite only starting in 2005, Afghanistan is committed
to achieving most of the MDGs by 2020. Meanwhile,
national consultations are under way to synchronize
efforts towards achieving the off-track MDG targets,
bearing in mind the outcome of the Open Working
Group on Sustainable Development Goals.
As we embark on the important task of crafting
the new post-2015 development agenda at this session,
I am happy to inform members that that process also
coincides with Afghanistan’s transformation decade.
Both are top priorities for Afghanistan’s national
development agenda. We appreciate the work of the
United Nations in recognizing the need to reduce
the number of sustainable development goals to an
affordable, achievable and realistic number in the post-
2015 development agenda. We are of the view that
that agenda should leave no one behind, it should be
adaptable to both global and local settings, and it should
have sustainable development and poverty eradication
at its centre.
Our region is blessed with vast resources and
opportunities for economic cooperation. An expanded
level of regional cooperation can serve both economic and
security purposes. The Afghan Government’s regional
strategic goal for economic cooperation is to establish
regional economic growth and resource corridors that
connect the Silk Road through Afghanistan, the people
of South and Central Asia and the Middle East and their
key economic activities, including agriculture, light
manufacturing and mineral extraction, with essential
trade, transit and energy enablers.
Regional cooperation is one of our priorities.
The Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process represents a
significant step towards enhancing stability and
regional cooperation between Afghanistan and the
12 participating countries, with the support of 12 other
country partners and nine international organizations.
This year’s General Assembly session takes place
at a time when the United Nations has seen a number
of conflicts continue and new ones have taken shape.
My Government fully supports the inalienable rights
of the Palestinian people and the establishment of
an independent Palestinian State with Jerusalem
as its capital. We strongly condemn illegal actions
and violations by the occupying Power against the
Palestinians as a whole, especially the ongoing
disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks on innocent
Palestinian civilians.
We express our grief at the killing of innocent
civilians in Syria and support a political resolution,
reached through a broad-based national dialogue that
meets the aspirations of all Syrians. With the worsening
security situation in Iraq and Libya, we strongly
condemn the actions of the Islamic State of Iraq and the
Sham and its brutality, and we call for joint efforts to
defeat that evil. In that context, I call upon the United
Nations to take appropriate action within its mandate to
uphold international peace and security.
My delegation believes that there is an urgent need
for the international community to pay attention to the
resolution of the crisis in Ukraine, while taking into
account the situation of civilians.
In conclusion, let me assure members that
Afghanistan remains committed to its national and
international responsibilities and obligations. We
reaffirm our strong will for a further strengthening of
democracy and good governance, including a further
strengthening of the rule of law; accountability and
transparency; the promotion and protection of human
rights, particularly the rights of women; justice reforms;
the fight against terrorism, narcotic drugs, corruption;
and the eradication of poverty. The support of the
international community is essential for all of that.