On Monday, Germany is set to host an international conference on Afghanistan’s future. Afghan national security adviser Rangin Dadfar Spanta spoke to Deutsche Welle about his hopes for a new era in his country’s history.
Representatives from many nations, as well as international organizations, have been gathering in the German city of Bonn for an international conference on the future of Afghanistan. Former Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta, now national security adviser, spoke to Deutsche Welle about the progress made in the country so far and his hopes for a new phase in its development.
Deutsche Welle: With the Afghanistan conference about to start, let’s talk about the expectations from the Afghan side. The last Afghanistan Conference was 10 years ago. With what sort of expectations is Afghanistan approaching this conference?
Rangin Dadfar Spanta: With this conference we will bring to an end a decade of cooperation for a better Afghanistan and begin a new phase of cooperation. The foundations of this new cooperation have been laid through a transfer of responsibility for security operations and through principles of good government in Afghanistan. In other words, Afghanistan will – in effect – win back its full sovereignty and take over full responsibility for its affairs.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has said this conference is about a deal, it’s about the international community not abandoning Afghanistan but continuing to support it, and that in return, Afghanistan will make greater progress at a faster pace on issues of good governance. Is that how you understand the situation?
We have worked together on the agreements. We put forward our own expectations and have spoken with our international partners, who put forward their own expectations. It is about a common journey and shared responsibilities. We are primarily accountable to the Afghan people and are responsible for pursuing good governance and an anti-corruption agenda, while at the same time ensuring the safety and welfare of the Afghan population.
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