Donors meet in Japan, pledge $16 billion for Afghanistan aid

International donors have reached an agreement on a $16 billion program of aid for Afghanistan for the next four years, U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said on Sunday.                     

"After intensive effort with the international community, Japan has announced that 16 billion dollars has been pledged to support Afghanistan's development over the next four years, more than enough to meet the World Bank's estimated requirements," Clinton said after a bilateral meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba on the sidelines of an international donors' conference in Tokyo.                     

The U.S. also pledged to keep its aid levels steady until the end of 2017. Washington signed off on $2.3 billion in the financial year that ends September 30.                       

"For our part, the United States will be working with Congress to provide assistance at or near the levels of the past decade through 2017, both to help secure Afghanistan's gains and to protect the already considerable investment that the United States has made -- not only in financial terms but in the sacrifice of our men and women in the past decade," Clinton said.                      
Donor fatigue and war weariness have taken their toll on how long the global community is willing to support Afghanistan, and there are concerns that without financial backing security could take a turn for the worse following the withdrawal of most NATO combat troops in 2014.                    

But Gemba told reporters he was confident the aid would buoy Afghan development and security.                         

"After the last ten years of turbulence, I believe this will now create a new path for Afghanistan to construct a self-sustainable future -- whether in terms of security or development," Gemba said.                       

The Afghan central bank has estimated that at least $6 billion a year in new investment from foreign donors will be needed to foster economic growth over the next decade.                        International donors provided $35 billion in aid to Afghanistan between 2001 and 2010, according to a summary prepared by Japanese officials.                     

On Syria, Clinton said said opposition forces were growing more effective and the sooner the violence ended, the higher the chances of sparing the Syrian government from assault.                       
"The future to me should be abundantly clear to those who support the Assad regime. The days are numbered and the sooner there can be an end to the violence and a beginning of a political transition process, not only will fewer people die, but there's a chance to save the Syrian state from a catastrophic assault that would be very dangerous - not only to Syria but to the region," Clinton said.                        

It appeared clear that Clinton was referring to the possibility of Syrian rebels launching an assault on state institutions -- a court and a broadcaster have been recent targets -- rather than to any outside intervention.       

Reuters