Roundup: Afghanistan given 15.2 bln USD aid for 2017-2020

The international donors on Wednesday pledged to provide 15.2 billion U.S. dollars in support of Afghanistan's development priorities for the period 2017-2020 at a two-day Conference on Afghanistan here that ends Wednesday.

The conference was held with the overall aim of generating international support for the Afghan reform and ensuring continued international political and financial support to bolster Afghanistan's economic stability, development and state-building processes over the next four years.

The conference brings together leaders from more than 70 countries worldwide, 20 international organizations and agencies, and a vast range of stakeholders.

According to the joint communique released after the conference, the international donors reaffirmed their commitments to three pillars over the next four years.

Firstly, the international community will assist the government of Afghanistan in state-building and better-governance through a mutual accountability framework.

During the conference, Afghanistan officials submitted a new Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework from 2017, setting out Afghanistan's strategic policy priorities towards achieving self-reliance.

Besides, five new national priority programs, including Citizens' Charter, Women's Economic Empowerment, Urban Development, Comprehensive Agriculture and National Infrastructure, were also presented to the donors.

Secondly, the participants from around the world pledged sustained international support and funding at or near current levels through 2020 with increased aid effectiveness.

However, the international donors said their financial support will remain significant but will be gradually declining, as the Afghan government continues to deliver on its commitments.

Thirdly, the international community said they will provide regional and international support for ending violence to foster economic development and improve regional economic cooperation, and for a political process towards lasting peace and reconciliation.

Afghanistan has seen its rapidly deteriorating economy in recent years.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the war-torn country's GDP growth has declined from an average of 10 percent over the period 2002-2012 to 1.3 percent in 2014.

In 2015 it grew slightly to 1.5 percent. Poverty rates and unemployment have also risen recently, with more than 39 percent of the population now living in poverty and unemployment standing at 39 percent.

This drastic economic decline is mainly the result of the post-2014 international military draw-down and the year of intensified political instability that followed the 2014 election.

Foreign troops once brought hundreds of millions of dollars into the Afghan economy, and their departure deprives the country of what was, after 2002, its largest single source of revenue.

As a least developed country, Afghanistan is hugely dependent on aid.

According to the statement released by the European Union, the Afghan government's own revenues stand at around two billion dollars per year (10 percent of its GDP), while international funding for the security sector remains at five billion dollars per year and development aid at around four billion dollars. Endit