H.E. Secretary General Ban ki-Moon H.E. President Hamid Karzai Dear Colleagues, Excellencies,

I would like to start by thanking H.E. Ban ki-Moon for hosting this important conference and President Karzai for co-chairing this gathering today, as we come together to renew and reinforce our international partnership to assist Afghanistan.

This conference underlines the priority Afghanistan has on our common agenda. We all take pride in doing our humble share by standing on the side of our Afghan brothers during their difficult times. With the help of the international community, much has been achieved so far which reflect the genuine desire of the Afghan people for an independent and democratic Afghanistan.

Yet, there are many factors which prevent us from becoming all too optimistic. The security situation keeps on deteriorating. Terrorists are now resorting to different tactics such as suicide bombs, kidnappings and improvised explosive devices. Their aim is to implant the sense of insecurity into the hearts of the common people.

These discouraging factors oblige us to double our efforts and determination to assist Afghanistan in a more efficient and result-oriented way.

It is a reality of our time that the world now faces a grave and growing threat from terrorism. It affects every aspect of the international environment, from development to peace, to human rights and the rule of law. It is a menace that requires a global response. The insurgents in Afghanistan claim that they are defending their homeland against an occupation. This is a very dangerous propaganda. The worst development in Afghanistan would be the consolidation of the image of our troops as an occupation force in the eyes of the Afghan people. In this context, NATO and the Coalition Forces must definitely do whatever is necessary to avoid civilian casualties. Furthermore, we should do our best to help families and communities adversely affected by our operations. We should always remind ourselves that the most important battle in Afghanistan is the battle for the hearts and minds of the Afghan people. This is a battle which we cannot afford to lose.

I would like to underline a vital point here. The ınternational community is in Afghanistan only to help the central Government and the Afghan people. We should be cautious against creating any grounds for the Afghan people to have a false impression that foreigners are in their country to make decisions on their behalf. Because, this would also feed the Taliban propaganda that they are fighting against foreign occupation. The key concepts here are more Afghan ownership and more visible Afghan leadership.

We believe that a strong national army and an efficient police force are the main pillars for the future of Afghanistan. Afghan national security forces should lead the fight against terrorism in their own country. Afghan authorities prefer to have modern military equipment and better training for their own national army, rather than an increase of foreign troops in Afghanistan. And, I believe, that is the option we should be following.

In line with our traditional ties of close friendship with Afghanistan, which date back to several centuries, Turkey keeps contributing to the collective efforts in Afghanistan. Following our lead in ISAF-II and ISAF-VII, we continue our active participation in ISAF by assuming the leadership of the Regional Command in Kabul as of April 2007. For this reason, our contribution has been reinforced by approximately 400 personnel; including the crew of the two helicopters we have provided to address a shortfall. We now have about 1.200 troops in Afghanistan.

Excellencies,

As we all agree, achieving our goals in Afghanistan goes beyond military means alone. In Afghanistan, issues such as unemployment, health services and electricity shortages occupy the agenda of the Afghan people at least as much as Taliban. It is a fact that serious projects are already underway for the infrastructure of the country. Many of them require a long time to be completed. The people, however, wish to feel the positive effects of these projects immediately in their daily lives. It should not come as a surprise to any of us when an average Afghan citizen does not care much about the multi billion dollar energy projects if he or she cannot have regular heating and electricity in harsh winter conditions. The new ring road connecting Kabul with some other cities may not mean much to the people of Kabul if they have to walk in knee-high mud. Simple people need to see positive

and tangible changes in their daily lives. Opening new employment opportunities and creating sustainable jobs should be one of our priorities. Utilizing the services of more Afghan companies and employing more Afghan personnel in our own projects are the least we can do.

As Turkey, on our part, we continue to carry out development and reconstruction projects in various parts of Afghanistan. Turkish-built, equipped and operated health centers in Afghanistan provide free medical treatment to some 900 patients a day. The number of Afghans who received such medical treatment in these health centers has exceeded 750.000 so far. In addition, annually 100 Afghan patients receive free medical treatment in Turkey. We have also built and equipped 27 schools in various parts of Afghanistan which provide proper education to almost 38.000 Afghan students. Moreover, our NGOs are running 6 private schools across the country, which are praised by the Afghan leaders. The number of safe drinking water wells drilled by Turkey across the country has already exceeded 60. As another tangible example of our comprehensive approach, almost a year ago, we have established a PRT in the province of Wardak. Our PRT has repeatedly been praised for its civilian composure.

Excellencies,

Regional dynamics is also important for our success in Afghanistan. With this in mind, we are working very closely with Pakistan and Afghanistan. Having the trust of both countries, we have initiated a trilateral mechanism to build up confidence and diversify areas of cooperation in the region. We attach utmost importance to this mechanism established on the basis of the Ankara Declaration announced by the Presidents of the three countries in Ankara on 29-30 April 2007.

We support the central role of the United Nations for the consolidation of peace and stability in Afghanistan. We believe, without creating any overlapping responsibilities, a more visible profile could be envisaged for the UN efforts in and around Afghanistan.

Excellencies,

As a final word, I would like to sound a point of caution. We all must be ready for a long-term engagement in Afghanistan. We must prepare our parliaments and public opinions for such an eventuality. Insurgent strategy is very simple. They count on wearing out our political will thinner in time. A solid determination on our part is the only tool to cope with this strategy.

The chain of events in the wake of 9/11 and our intervention in Afghanistan are dragging us into a world unknown to us. If we can not succeed in Afghanistan, I am afraid, we are doomed to live in a world of ever increasing intolerance, xenophobia and animosities. I think, this is not the kind of world we would like to hand down to our grand children. That is why we all have to do what it takes.

Thank you.