President Karzai speaks in post-Afghan conference

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said in Tokyo on Monday that the development aid pledged by international donors would help the country move forward, but he said the international community needed to also play its part in preventing corruption in Afghanistan.

International donors at a conference in the Japanese capital on Sunday offered 16 (b) billion US Dollars in development aid for Afghanistan to show there will not be a mass exodus from the country after most foreign troops pull out in two years.

They stressed the aid will be closely monitored to assure it is not squandered through corruption or mismanagement.

At a news conference on Monday, Karzai thanked the donors from about 70 countries and organisations that convened in Tokyo for the one-day conference.

"Yesterday's event reminded us once again, luckily, that the international community continues to be supportive of Afghanistan's desire for a better life, for a stronger country, with strong and better institutions, and economy" said Karzai.

The 16 (b) billion through 2015 is near what the World Bank believes Afghanistan needs to close the gap between how much money it can afford and how much it needs to sustain its transition.

In return for the aid, Afghanistan vowed to improve domestic governance and fight corruption, but Karzai said the international community also needs to play its part.

"On corruption, two hands must clap, one hand will not deliver" he said, calling for changes in how funds are given, disbursed and contracted in Afghanistan.

The aid is to be tied to a mechanism that will regularly review how it is being spent, and to guarantees from Kabul that it will seriously take on its deep-rooted corruption problems - what the conference called a roadmap of accountability.

A follow-up meeting is to be held in Britain in 2014.

The meeting in Britain will check progress toward "mutual accountability" and a review and monitoring process to assure that development aid is not diverted by corrupt officials or mismanaged - both of which have been major hurdles in putting aid projects into practice thus far.

Afghanistan, one of the world's ten poorest countries, has received nearly 60 (b) billion US Dollars in civilian aid since 2002.

The World Bank says foreign aid makes up nearly the equivalent of the country's gross domestic product.

AP