President Afghanistan ontvangen op Catshuis

Nieuwsbericht | 09-06-2008 | 00:00

Verklaring minister-president na afloop van zijn gesprek in het Catshuis met president Karzai van Afghanistan:

Ladies and gentlemen,

First I will say a few words in Dutch, than in English.

Graag heet ik president Karzai van harte welkom in Nederland. Zijn bezoek is belangrijk voor Nederland én voor Afghanistan. Nederland is zeer intensief betrokken bij Afghanistan, samen met de NAVO-bondgenoten en vele andere leden van de internationale gemeenschap. Totaal gaat het om meer dan 40 landen. Er hebben in totaal al ruim 10.000 Nederlandse militairen gediend. Dat is zwaar werk. Onder moeilijke omstandigheden.

Zestien van onze militairen zijn tijdens het werk aan een betere toekomst voor Afghanistan om het leven gekomen. Bij hen en bij hun familie hebben wij tijdens onze besprekingen ook stilgestaan. Ons past het diepste respect voor hen die zijn omgekomen en hun nabestaanden.

Onze betrokkenheid bij Afghanistan, bij Uruzgan, zorgt voor een bijzondere band. En daarom is het goed dat de president hier is.

De president heeft mij verteld hoe graag hij de dankbaarheid van het Afghaanse volk hier persoonlijk in Nederland wil overbrengen. De president zal dit onder meer doen door tijdens zijn bezoek militairen, diplomaten, ontwikkelingswerkers, ondernemers en studenten te ontmoeten.

We spraken onder meer over de opbouw van de Afghaanse politie. Dat gaat moeilijk. De NAVO, de EU en Nederland zullen zich nog sterker gaan inzetten om politie-agenten te trainen. Maar Afghanistan zelf zal ook meer moeten laten zien. Ik heb de president gevraagd om voldoende goed gekwalificeerde mensen aan te nemen voor het zware politiewerk. Zonder goede, gemotiveerde politie-agenten, geen goede toekomst voor Afghanistan.

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Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to extend a warm welcome to President Karzai. Your visit is important for both our countries. The Netherlands is very closely involved with Afghanistan, together with more than forty other nations drawn from the NATO allies and the wider international community.

More than ten thousand Dutch people have already served in Uruzgan. They are doing a difficult job, under difficult circumstances. Sixteen of our soldiers have lost their lives while working to build a better future for Afghanistan. The President and I have spoken of the sacrifice made by these men and their families.

Our involvement in Afghanistan - in Uruzgan - has created a special bond between our countries. This is a good reason for this visit. President Karzai has told me how important he felt it was to come here and personally express the gratitude of the Afghan people against this background. So he will also be meeting military personnel, development professionals, entrepreneurs and students.

Together with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defence and Development Cooperation, I have just had an extensive meeting with President Karzai. We discussed subjects ranging from security, development and human rights to counter narcotics and the situation in the wider region.

We have reaffirmed the Netherlands' commitment to Afghan development. Because security in Afghanistan is important for us all. Because Afghanistan must never again become a land of fear and terror. Because the Netherlands believes in solidarity. Because the Netherlands believes that human rights are universal. And because the hateful Taliban regime must never be allowed to return.

This is why the Netherlands will continue in its role as lead nation in Uruzgan until August 2010. And why we will reaffirm a multiyear development partnership with Afghanistan at a major conference on Afghanistan coming Thursday in Paris.

I have complimented the President on the speed with which the Afghan army is being developed. In the last two years, the number of Afghan troops in Uruzgan has increased tenfold.

We also discussed building up the Afghan police force. This is turning out to be a greater challenge. NATO, the EU and the Netherlands will be increasing their efforts to train police officers. But Afghanistan also needs to do more. Without highly-motivated police officers, there can be no bright future for Afghanistan.

We talked about human rights. As you know, the Netherlands is fundamentally opposed to the death penalty. We discussed this very frankly. We talked about the detention issue. The people we hand over to the Afghan authorities must be treated correctly - the President agreed wholeheartedly.

We also spoke about capacity building within the administration in Uruzgan. Without good public servants and courts, reconstruction efforts cannot get fully underway. The Netherlands supports the Afghan government by funding projects aimed at improving education, infrastructure, agriculture and health care.

Mr. President, you are the face of Afghanistan. You are working for your country's recovery under very difficult conditions. I have great respect for the way you bear your heavy responsibilities and for the efforts of so many Afghans who are trying to end thirty years of devastation and sorrow.

Thank you.