At the International Conference on Afghanistan, held on 20 July in Kabul, Kazakhstan put forward a strategy that prioritises the rehabilitation and post-conflict restoration of Afghanistan with strengthening the humanitarian component in the assistance from the international community. The visit and participation of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister and Secretary of State, Kanat Saudabayev, are viewed as an important step towards the development of the Kazakh-Afghan
cooperation and the promotion of priorities of Kazakhstan’s OSCE Chairmanship.

Commending the Afghan government’s work for the conference organisation, Minister Saudabayev expressed a strong determination regarding the need of the international community’s support for the implementation of the Afghanistan National
Development Strategy in order to build a stable, democratic and prosperous Afghan state.

Calling upon the OSCE countries to actively involve in resolving the Afghan issue, Saudabayev emphasised the importance of changing the very paradigm of combating challenges, emanating from Afghanistan, from military means to eradication of sources of these challenges. Realising the Afghan problems could not be solved only militarily, Kazakhstan on the bilateral basis takes an active part in the processes of rehabilitating Afghanistan.

Over recent years, Kazakhstan has allocated some US$ 4 million to rebuilding schools, hospitals and roads in Afghanistan. Astana has also delivered to Afghanistan about three thousand tons of wheat, transferred US$ 1 million to the Special Fund for Islamic Solidarity of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), a part of which will be directed to Afghanistan’s reconstruction efforts. The year of 2010 will see the start of the Kazakh-Afghan inter-governmental agreement on providing vocational training for one thousand Afghans at Kazakh universities, and for this purpose Astana has allocated US$ 50 million.

Karzai stressed that Afghanistan firmly supports Kazakhstan’s efforts as OSCE Chairman and President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s initiative to hold the OSCE Summit, one of the key themes of which may be increasing the assistance to Afghanistan by the OSCE countries.

Saudabayev also held talks with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, where they discussed bilateral issues and the cooperation within the OSCE. Secretary Clinton thanked Kazakhstan for the recent ratification of an agreement for land transit of special cargoes through Kazakhstan and onto Afghanistan, which is an important element in the overall efforts to bring stability to Afghanistan.