DUSHANBE, December 4, 2011, Asia-Plus — Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi yesterday left for Bonn, Germany to attend an international conference on Afghanistan that will take place there on December 5.
According to the Tajik MFA information department, the conference is dedicated to review the results of participation of international community in a ten-year process of establishment of peace and stability in Afghanistan and reconstruction of Afghanistan’s economy.
The second International Conference on Afghanistan will take place in Bonn, Germany on December 5, 2011. The conference is hosted by Germany at the Hotel Petersberg and chaired by Afghanistan.
At the NATO Summit in Lisbon in November 2010, Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai had asked Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel to host a follow-up conference ten years after the 2001 Bonn Conference. In order to prepare the second Bonn Conference, the Afghan Government is working in collaboration with the International Contact Group on Afghanistan, which consists of the Special Representatives on Afghanistan of 50 states. The Contact Group is headed by the German Special Representative Michael Steiner.
The second Bonn Conference on Afghanistan reportedly focuses on three main areas: 1) civil aspects of the transition process, the transfer of responsibility for security to the Afghan Government by 2014; 2) long-term engagement of the international community and further international commitment to Afghanistan after the handover; and 3) political process that should lead to a long-term stabilization of the country, i.e. national reconciliation and the integration of former Taliban fighters.
At the 66th UN General Assembly President Hamid Karzai”s statement delivered by Foreign Minister Dr. Zalmay Rassoul said that the conference would also be an opportunity for Afghanistan to “share our vision for the next ten years – the vision of developing Afghanistan into a stable country, a functioning democracy, and a prospering economy.”
Delegates from 88 states, 17 international organizations and the United Nations are expected to attend the conference. Pakistan decided to boycott Bonn Conference due to violation of Pakistan”s territorial sovereignty by NATO on November 25, 2011 killing 24 Pakistani soldiers.
According to Wikipedia, a single Afghan delegation will be present at the 2011 Bonn Conference. However, the make-up of the delegation remains flexible therefore making it possible to include a diverse range of Afghan participants. In June 2011 there were speculations that the conference could mark formal start of Afghan peace process and that representatives of the Taliban might be invited to attend the conference. However, the Taliban said they will not be represented at the upcoming Bonn Conference as Taliban Leader Mullah Mohammad Omar said in an Eid message that the conference was symbolic and the Taliban would not participate in it.
Meanwhile, after Bonn, Tajik foreign minister will visit Vilnius, Lithuania to attend the 18th meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council that will take place on December 6-7.
