US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived here for international talks Monday aimed at charting a course for Afghanistan after NATO combat troops withdraw, as her aides played down a boycott by Pakistan.
Clinton will meet with President Hamid Karzai and other Afghan officials at a conference in Bonn that is also aimed at ensuring international financial and technical support continues after the troops withdraw in 2014.
The chief US diplomat will also meet her German and other counterparts from 100 countries and international organizations, but not from Pakistan, which announced a boycott after a deadly NATO bombing raid.
US officials have stopped short of offering an apology pending an investigation into the November 26 raid that killed 24 Pakistani troops on the troubled border.
Clinton has voiced regret over the boycott because she said Pakistan has a stake in a secure and stable Afghanistan but aides travelling with her denied Pakistan’s absence would undermine the conference in this west German city.
Analysts have said the absence undermines efforts to promote peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban but US officials said neither Washington nor Kabul had current high expectations for reconcilation.
Pakistan is seen as having key influence over the Taliban.
“I don’t think it (the boycott) will impact the conclusions of the conference in any way,” a senior State Department official told reporters on the condition of anonymity during the flight to Bonn from Washington on Sunday.
“We’re all anticipating they (the Pakistanis) will continue to play an important role moving foreward. I wouldn’t read too much into their non appearance tomorrow (Monday),” the official said.
The official instead hailed an Afghan economic strategy which will be unveiled at the conference and which he said shows the Karzai government wishes to take charge of its economic future.
“It’s quite sober. It’s very clear-eyed. It makes a series of specific commitments that they would like to move forward on, on legal and regulatory reforms,” he said.
The US State Department official said the Afghan leadership has moved to clear up financial transparency problems that have blocked international development funds to Afghanistan in the wake of the scandal over Kabul Bank.
The troubled lender was split into a “good” and “bad” bank in April in a bid to save it from collapse after former executives granted themselves off-the-books loans worth a reported $900 million.
Another US official said the United States, Britain, the European Union, Japan and Australia froze payments to the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund, which helps community programs like well drilling and road building.
“We’re through the relative stalemate (on funding) that occurred after the Kabul Bank” scandal, the first official said. “We’re back on track with a number of economic reforms and a commitment by the Afghans to continue these.”
The United States plans to distribute in Bonn its own economic strategy for Afghanistan which stresses support for key sectors like agriculture, light manufacturing as well as mining and services, including banking.
After Bonn, Clinton is set to travel to Vilnius, Geneva, Brussels and The Hague.
Clinton at Afghan talks as aides play down Pakistan boycott
