U.S. promises financial aid for security & development in post-war Afghanistan

The U.S. Government has promised Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to finance a large contingent of Afghan security forces at least until 2017, and provide up to $800 million to foster economic development in the country in its postwar scenario.

A day before his meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House, Ghani held talks with Secretary of State John Kerry and Pentagon head Ashton Carter, together with the Chief Executive Officer of Afghanistan Abdullah Abdullah on Monday.

In a press conference at the presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland, the four officials underlined the strength of the bilateral strategic partnership despite nearly fourteen years of war, and tensions during the final phase of former Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government.

Ghani’s first official trip to the United States, after becoming president in September, began with a visit to the Pentagon where he expressed his gratitude for the ‘sacrifice’ of American soldiers in Afghanistan since 2001 when they toppled the Taliban regime.

Ghani thanked the soldiers “on behalf of a grateful nation to people in this building and the larger U.S. community for sacrificing continuously since September 11 to bring us freedom and hope.”

The Afghan President lived in Washington for a decade and worked at the World Bank until the fall of the Taliban regime.

During his daylong talks with Kerry and Carter, Ghani obtained the U.S. government’s commitment to ask the Congress for funds to support a staff of 352,000 security forces Afghan until at least 2017.

Kerry also announced an endowment of up to $800 million in U.S. aid for a revitalized partnership focused “to encourage and measure Afghanled reform and development activities and strengthen Afghan institutions’ sustainability and fiscal transparency.”

The matter related to United States’ planned withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan remained pending during the talks, following Ghani’s request for continued U.S. military presence owing to the country’s difficult security situation.

However, Ghani said that he will not engage in any discussion on the number of U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

“The question on numbers is a decision for the president of the United States, and that decision will solely be made by President Obama,” Ghani said.

Until late 2014, U.S. military forces were deployed under NATO’s international mission and currently there are around 10,000 U.S. military personnel serving in Afghanistan to train and assist local security forces.

According to the current plan, by the end of this year the number of soldiers would be reduced by half, about 5,000, before a complete withdrawal by the end of 2016, but both Kerry and Carter said that there could be further adjustments.