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| Image: Flickr User - U.S. Department of State |
By Catherine Putz
The U.S., China, and Afghanistan held a high-level meeting in New York City ahead of the UN General Assembly debate.
As world leaders flocked to New York City over the weekend to participate in the annual UN General Assembly debate this week, the United States, China, and Afghanistan co-chaired a high-level event on Afghanistan. A senior state department official, giving a background briefing to the media after the event, was asked if it was really just a “let’s pat ourselves on the back kind of meeting.” He replied that it wasn’t, saying in a somewhat convoluted fashion that the parties gathered were still paying attention to Afghanistan.
Remarks from Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani, Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi were public, but journalists were not present for statements delivered by Pakistani Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz, Federica Mogherini, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, as well as statements from the ministers of foreign affairs of Turkey, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Australia, Kazakhstan, and Norway.
Rabbani opened the event by lavishing praise on Kerry and Wang for their “friendship and continuing commitment to the stabilization, reconstruction, and development of Afghanistan.” The meeting, Rabbani said, “marks a unique opportunity to discuss issues of crucial importance in the context of our continuing efforts to realize an Afghanistan that stands in peace, security, and prosperity.”
The real issue is attention. In 2012, international donors gathered in Tokyo and pledged $16 billion in aid over four years. Next year, donors will gather again–but Afghanistan is buried by a whole host of development and security priorities from Syria to the South China Sea, from Ukraine to Iran. The attention span of world powers and pocketbooks is fickle, especially when it seems few gains have been made and held.
Read the full story at The Diplomat