VOWING SUPPORT FOR GOVERNMENT, NEW UN ENVOY ARRIVES IN AFGHANISTAN

VOWING SUPPORT FOR GOVERNMENT, NEW UN ENVOY ARRIVES IN AFGHANISTAN New York, Mar 28 2008 10:00AM Pledging to boost assistance to the Government of Afghanistan, the new Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (<http://www.unama-afg.org/>UNAMA) for the war-ravaged nation touched down in Kabul today.

"I come to Afghanistan with the utmost respect for its people, religion and history and I am grateful for the support and confidence of President [Hamid] Karzai and the international community," said Kai Eide, calling on the international community to rally behind efforts to rebuild the country.

"Afghanistan has been calling for stronger coordination of international assistance – we need to better respond to this demand," he noted, adding that the Security Council has recently sharpened UNAMA's mandate.

"In the past there has been much focus on the security situation," Mr. Eide observed. "This needs to be balanced with the political dimension of our work to deliver much needed peace, stability and visible progress for all the peoples of Afghanistan."

The Special Representative will meet with President Karzai and other key Government and UN officials over the coming days before departing for an international meeting on Afghanistan in Bucharest, Romania, next week.
2008-03-28 00:00:00.000

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