UN will stay in Afghanistan as long as necessary, vows Ban Ki-moon

UNITED NATIONS: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has pledged U.N.’s commitment to stay the course in Afghanistan to ensure peace, security and development in the devastated country.
“We shall not leave Afghanistan as long as we are needed by the Afghan people,” Ban told a high-level international meeting convened in Bucharest, Romania, as part of the summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), according to the text of his remarks issued at UN Headquarters in New York.
He noted the achievements of recent years such as economic growth, lower infant and maternal mortality rates and an increase in school enrollment. “ But these welcome indicators of progress must not obscure the obstacles that we still face,” he added, citing the threat posed by the continuing violence and militancy in various parts of the country and the growing drug economy.
Ban acknowledged that the UN has not been as effective as it needs to be in coordinating the international community, adding that the new Security Council mandate will allow the world body to take a more assertive role in coordination.
At a press conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Ban reiterated the need for the international community to continue its efforts in Afghanistan until the Government can stand on its own, warning that “ the cost of disengagement would be far greater than the cost of engagement.”
The Secretary-General began the day with a working breakfast with President Karzai, with whom he discussed the importance of today’s conference as a means of reaffirming the international community’s long-term support for Afghanistan. They also discussed the latest audio message from al-Qaeda, and both noted, contrary to that message, the contributions that the UN has made to the Muslim world.