Hamid Karzai

“ Many of us are plagued by poverty and environmental degradation; for some of us, trafficking in illegal drugs, corruption and red-tape are among significant obstacles to development and upholding the rule of law.
Perhaps by far the most fearsome challenge to the region’s prosperity today is the menaces of extremism and terrorism which threaten our people’s lives and livelihoods. Over the past five years, in our endeavour to rebuild Afghanistan into a healthy member of the community of nations, we have fought against extremism and terrorism in our region. ”

“ Today, the United States is once again leading the global effort to defeat terrorism and extremism. Afghanistan is a central front in the war against terrorism. The Afghan people are and will remain with you in this struggle.
Ladies and gentlemen, in this great Chamber, in the House of the American people, democracy and liberty thrive. Afghans are honored to have become partners in this noble tradition. The Afghan people will not forget your help and will always remember and cherish your friendship. ”

“ Meanwhile, the enemies of our independence and our security, from inside and from outside the country, have not stopped killing our people. Our schools and mosques are put afire, our religious scholars, our teachers, experts who come to our country to help us and innocent civilians are killed. Forces hostile to a free, independent Afghanistan still exist. Nonetheless, the people of Afghanistan are determined to defend their independence and their territorial integrity. ”

“ Terrorism remains one of our main challenges. The remnants of terrorism continue to attack our citizens and threaten our security. As long as terrorism continues to exist in our region, neither Afghanistan, nor our neighbours, nor indeed the rest of the world can be safe. Eliminating the remnants of terrorism in Afghanistan and in the region requires not only continued support from the international community, but also strong and sincere commitment from other countries in the region. ”

“ Today, under a United Nations mandate, and consistent with the wishes of the Afghan people, your sons and daughters together with citizens of more than 35 other nations have committed security forces to Afghanistan, while more than 60 nations, along with multilateral organisations, have pledged generously to help rebuild the war-torn Afghanistan in a stable, prosperous and democratic country.
Canada has made a tremendous difference in the lives of millions of Afghans already. Afghanistan is proud to be the largest recipient of your overseas development assistance. ”

“ To all of our international partners who have given much critical support to Afghanistan over the past five years and continue to do so today, I say today thank you for your valuable support.
To those of our partners who may be pondering their continued involvement in Afghanistan, I say the job is not over and the stakes are still very high. The security of the region and the world at large are not yet fully safeguarded. The war we are collectively fighting against international terrorism cannot be won with hesitation and uncertainty. ”

“ Allow me to once again thank the people and government of Tajikistan for the unwavering support to the resistance of people of Afghanistan against the Taliban and their foreign supporters. The people of Tajikistan have stood by the Afghans in the most difficult times and have given Afghan refugees warm hospitality. The people of Tajikistan have been our closest friends since the establishment of Afghan Interim Government in 2001. ”

“ We, the Afghan people, have once again established ourselves as a proud and sovereign nation. Without your support and commitment and without the partnership between our two nations, none of this would have been achieved. ”

“ Yet, establishing a stable, democratic, and prosperous Afghanistan requires sustained and collaborative efforts by the Afghans, our neighbours and the international community. We, the Afghan people, will do our share. Working together for a stable and prosperous Afghanistan is not only a good example of successful international cooperation, but will also contribute to regional prosperity and global security. ”

“ Over the past four and half years, I have seen us working together with our partner in the international community, removing the obstacles one by one, and taking steady steps towards rebuilding institutions and providing security to our people. ”

“ A democratic nation is not built overnight, nor in one or two elections. A democratic state draws its strength not only from strong state institutions, but from the confidence of the people in these institutions and in the democratic process. Afghanistan’s democracy will continue to grow, will continue to develop, will continue to gain the confidence of its people – but only with patience and with the continued support of Canada and other members of the international community. ”

“ We the countries of this region are co-habitants of a shared geography and are linked by deep historical and cultural ties. Together, we have great assets for economic development, from our hugely untapped natural resources to our people who are young, dynamic and eager to learn and prosper. Together, we must utilize our assets to grow. Afghanistan, lying at the heart of this region, is proud to be your partner in this collective effort to achieve regional prosperity. ”

“ We should enhance our cultural and educational exchanges and scientific cooperation to keep alive our common culture.
Strengthening economic, political, security and cultural cooperation between our countries requires, more than ever, that we reduce, as much as possible, the bureaucracy and administrative obstacles in our relationship. Our experts will have to take immediate practical measures to remove these barriers. We must open the doors for our people to move from one country to another. ”

“ There is much that Afghanistan can learn from Canada. We admire the multi-cultural society have created where the diversity of your country is seen as one of your greatest strengths. We admire the respect for the rule of law, for justice, and for human dignity that pervades you nation. ”

“ From the reconstruction of infrastructure to rural development to education and health, Japan’s assistance has been a noticeable factor in the steady betterment of life for the Afghan people. Above all, Japan’s contribution to the Security Sector Reform programme, mainly focusing on the disarmament, demobilization and re-integration of armed groups, has been crucial to restoring Afghanistan to a secure and peaceful country desired by the Afghan people. ”

“ Over the past four years, Afghanistan has gone through a remarkable transformation and as a result the Afghan people live lives that are more secure, marked by historical opportunities and full of promise for the future. The Afghan people are determined to realize the vision of a stable, democratic and prosperous Afghanistan. ”

“ With this commitment in mind, today's conference is a landmark event both for Afghanistan and the peoples of this region who share our vision of security, progress and prosperity. Therefore, for the sake of the legitimate aspirations of our peoples, let us resolve to make our common vision a reality. ”

“ It is a pleasure to be among friends in Canada today, and to be visiting a great nation that is a model to the rest of us for all that is good. Yet, I know my visit comes at a time of sadness for a number of families across Canada, who have lost loved ones, in my country Afghanistan. I also know that it is a time when many in Canada are pondering their country’s role in Afghanistan. ”

“ At the Berlin Conference earlier this year, the international community renewed its commitment to rebuilding Afghanistan. The generous pledges that we received in Berlin will be committed to national reconstruction and development programs that will create economic opportunities for our citizens and further promote economic growth throughout the region. Eradicating poverty and meeting the education and health needs of our citizens will continue to remain among our top priorities. ”

“ Drug profits finance private militias, terrorists and extremists. Drug profits undermine our efforts to build a healthy and legitimate national economy. Drugs threaten the lives and future of children, yours and ours. We are determined to cleanse Afghanistan from this menace. ”

“ With your help, we aspire to stand on our own feet, to determines our own destiny and live peaceably with the world as a member of the family of nations. We realize that there many challenges and obstacles to overcome before we can realize our vision, but we are determined to keep the course that we have chosen. ”

“ We only can overcome our difficulties through common effort and cooperation. Afghans are ready to work together with their Tajik brothers to uproot these difficulties. We know that terrorism and drugs are threatening our brotherly Tajikistan too. We hope that we will be able to join hands in combating drug trafficking and to free our countries from this evil. Therefore, strengthening the cooperation between the security forces of both countries is necessary, more than ever. ”

“ We in Afghanistan firmly believe in such a vision and we will work with you towards achieving it. We will spare no effort to restore Afghanistan’s historical role as a land-bridge connecting the surrounding regions. We also recognise that Afghanistan’s stability is an asset for the region, whereas an unstable Afghanistan will undoubtedly put the vision of a peaceful and prosperous region in jeopardy. ”

“ We will not fully succeed in eliminating terrorism, unless we seek and fight the sources of terrorism, wherever they might be, and dry its roots. Our strategy of fighting terrorism in Afghanistan has so far been mainly focused on addressing the symptoms of terrorism – that is on killing terrorists who come from across our borders. This strategy is bound to fail unless we move beyond the military-alone approach in Afghanistan to address terrorism’s political, ideological and financial basis. ”

“ We, the Afghan people, started our journey to stability and democracy almost three years ago. I am delighted to report to you that eighteen days from today, our people will go to the polls for the first time to elect their President, marking the most significant milestone in their journey. ”

“ Whereas Afghans had fought and won the world’s war against communism, the reward that Afghanistan received was abandonment by the international community. We were left with a world of destruction to rebuild, and at the mercy of a predatory neighbourhood and the bellicose extremist forces that had been brought to Afghanistan. ”

“ It goes without saying that progress in all other sectors in Afghanistan would not have been possible without improvement in the security situation and without our achievements in the various areas of security sector reform. When I came to Tokyo in January 2006, Afghanistan had just toppled a terrorist regime and driven out Al Qaida’s alien network, but the security of our people was still perilously threatened by lawlessness, localised militias and a spread on a massive scale of weapons and armaments. ”

“ In the past four and half years, the people of Afghanistan have made courageous efforts to revive their economy and to rebuild the ruins of their country. Our achievements in enforcing the rule of the law, developing education, enhancing the economy and reviving state institutions are considerable. ”

“ With your support, men and women of Afghanistan have now equal rights before the law and the Constitution. The new Constitution replaces the Taliban-imposed gender discrimination by assigning 25 percent of the seats in our future parliament for women. Together we have furthered democracy by creating a climate where 35 percent of the voters so far registered for our election are women. ”