Excellencies, Colleagues,

Distinguished Participants,

First, I should like to commend President Karzai and the honorable people of Afghanistan for gathering the international community here in Kabul for this landmark conference.

The nations represented here are actively contributing to a historic transformation in Afghanistan towards a peaceful and prosperous, sovereign future. We respect the proud Afghan nation, their sublime faith, their peaceful customs, and their magnificent culture. Our purpose is to assist this dignified nation to finally enter the realm of peace, stability and indeed development. The mere fact that the international community meets in Afghanistan is a testament to our fundamental premise: Afghanistan belongs to the Afghans.

Today the Afghan Government presents a viable and visionary plan in order to take Afghan ownership forward. The vision presented by His Excellency President Karzai in his inaugural speech of 19 November 2009, which I had the honour to listen on site, is now being turned step by step into deeds.

Tangible progress has been made. Yet, there are further steps and hard decisions to be achieved in order to ensure the irreversibility of the Afghan gains and the international investment.

The determination shown both by the Afghan administration and the international community present here in Kabul gives us hope and courage.

We should continue to match the Afghans’ vision by providing the necessary support and expertise, taking account of Afghan priorities and respecting the Afghan identity and culture.

“Peace and reintegration” is an inseparable component of enhanced Afghan ownership. I welcome the Afghan Peace and Reintegration Plan presented today to the Kabul Conference. Building on the spirit and decisions of the successful National Consultative Peace Jirga, an Afghan-led and steered peace and reconciliation process should culminate in enhanced national unity and solidarity throughout the country. As such, the process should be taken forward in an inclusive, and to the extent possible, transparent manner, taking account of the traditional social fabric of the Afghan society.

The upcoming Parliamentary elections will help consolidate nation-wide unity and solidarity, by enabling representation of all segments of the society. No effort must be spared with a view to holding the elections in a fair and transparent manner and on 18 September as planned. I hereby announce that Turkey will be contributing two million Dollars to the United Nations in support of the elections process.

No doubt “Intiqal” (transition) to commence phased province-by-province transfer to Afghan responsibility will constitute one of the quintessential outcomes of the Kabul Conference. The process should be conditions-driven, rather than relying on artificial timelines.

Enhanced regional cooperation is part and parcel of the efforts to promote stability in Afghanistan. Based on this understanding the Istanbul Summit and Statement on Friendship and Cooperation in the “Heart of Asia” has set out a viable vision for regionally owned enhanced cooperation. I am convinced that an essential element of ensuring the irreversibility of the processes under way in Afghanistan is directly related with better, result-oriented cooperation at the regional level between Afghanistan and its neighbours. The Trilateral Summits among Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan, has turned into a comprehensive process which, in addition to four Summit meetings, has come to include the parliamentarians, military, intelligence chiefs and businessmen, as well as Foreign and Education Ministers.

We will continue to underpin the regional dimension by hosting the fourth Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan and the regional Minds Platform later this year.

Excellencies, Colleagues,

Distinguished Participants,

Today we are “realigning” our efforts with the roadmap provided by the Government of Afghanistan to this Conference.

The success, as inevitable as it may be, would be the success of the Afghans and the nations present here, any failure would also belong to every one of us.

As Turkey leads the Regional Command Capital, have been making a massive investment in the field of training of the Afghan National Security Forces. Only since November 2009, 4.000 members of the Afghan National Security Forces have been trained by Turkey. We will increase this number to 7.000 by the end of this year. We also take reconstruction, development and capacity building efforts in Afghanistan very seriously because they are the primary “catalysts” for Afghanisation. The second Turkish civilian-led Provincial Reconstruction Team which I will inaugurate tomorrow in Shebergan will further extend Turkey’s support to both Jawzjan and Sar-e Pol provinces, by focussing on development and capacity building, including the training of the Afghan National Security Forces. The distinguished Afghan Minister of Health Mrs. Dalil will kindly honor the ceremonies together with other dignitaries.

In concluding, let me reaffirm in full candor that Turkey will continue to support Afghanistan as long as required and requested by our Afghan brothers and sisters. Our fraternal engagement with Afghanistan began in 1920’s and continues today with the most comprehensive foreign assistance program of the Turkish Republic.

Thank you for your attention.