Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, right, and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns speak before the Istanbul Conference for Afghanistan in Istanbul, Turkey, November 2.

By MacKenzie C. Babb | Staff Writer | 02 November 2011

Washington — Deputy Secretary of State William Burns says a meeting in Istanbul of Afghan officials, that country’s neighbors, near-neighbors and international partners was the “first clear, regionwide statement of support” for Afghanistan’s future stability and prosperity.

“It marks the first time — in one room, with one voice — that the countries of the region pledge to cooperate to build a more stable, prosperous and peaceful Afghanistan embedded in a stable prosperous and peaceful region,” Burns said in remarks to the conference November 2.

He said that Afghanistan has already begun “an ambitious transition to take responsibility for its security, pursue reconciliation and plan for its economic future.” The United States and other conference participants, he added, will continue to stand by Afghans as they work to meet the challenges ahead.

The United States and NATO have agreed to transfer full security control of Afghanistan’s 34 provinces to Afghan forces by the end of 2014, but also have pledged to provide support, training and assistance for the country’s security personnel for as long as necessary after the transition.

In addition to taking charge of the country’s security, Afghan leaders are working toward reconciling with former militants. Burns said all participating nations at the conference committed to stand behind an Afghan-led process of reconciliation in which insurgents “renounce violence, abandon al-Qaida and accept Afghanistan’s Constitution — including the hard-won rights of women and minorities.”

Burns said that for this political agenda to succeed, all Afghans must be able to envision a more prosperous future.

“Across the region, lasting stability and security will depend on greater economic opportunities in people’s lives, and that depends on greater economic cooperation among the countries in this room,” he said.

The deputy secretary called on conference participants to work toward regionally integrated economic growth through the New Silk Road initiative, which would establish Afghanistan as a crossroads in a new network of regional economic and trade connections. Named for the ancient trade route, the plan would offer an economic boost to Afghanistan and its neighbors by bolstering trade across South and Central Asia.

The Istanbul conference, hosted by Turkey and Afghanistan, involved top diplomats from China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Iran, India, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The United States, Japan and several European countries attended as supporters. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was scheduled to attend but canceled to be with her ailing mother, Dorothy Rodham, who subsequently died November 1. Burns was sent in her place.

The group will meet again December 5 in Bonn, Germany, to discuss progress made and next steps. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the Bonn meeting will focus on making the international community’s long-term commitments to Afghanistan “clearer and more specific.”

(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/iipdigital-en/index.html)