The Netherlands welcomes the decision to expedite and broaden the international mission in Afghanistan. This was foreign minister Maxime Verhagen’s response today to President Obama’s speech on the new strategy and timetable for the campaign. Mr Verhagen had already been informed of the President’s decision by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
‘The United States is showing its confidence in the mission in Afghanistan,’ Mr Verhagen said. ‘It is vital that Afghanistan does not revert to a safe haven for terrorists. Stepping up and broadening support for Afghanistan will enable its people to provide for the security and reconstruction of their country.’
This strategy is in line with the integrated approach adopted by the Netherlands in the province of Uruzgan. The emphasis is not purely on military efforts, but also on fostering good governance and development.
‘It is important that we safeguard the outstanding results achieved by our troops, development workers and diplomats in Uruzgan, so we can continue to build on them,’ the minister said.
In the future international support for Afghanistan will be increasingly dependent on the results achieved by President Karzai’s government. The Netherlands also favours this approach.
Source: isria.com/
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