Showing posts with label conference. Show all posts
Showing posts with label conference. Show all posts

Sunday, October 30, 2016

Heart of Asia Conference - Dec 2016

The Heart of Asia (HoA) conference will be held in December. Over 14 nations across the Central and South Asian region will participate. This conference is of extreme importance to Afghanistan - a nation struggling with a downturn of its economy, development challenges, and deteriorating security situation. Central to the conference will be the extent to which India will continue to increase its economic aid to Afghanistan . . . and, of course, how many obstacles Pakistan will place in the way of real progress. Read more in "Why India must go all out for a stable Kabul", Observer Research Foundation, October 28, 2016.

Sunday, October 9, 2016

Report on Brussels Conference


The Brussels Conference took place this past week. Over 75 nations and many international organizations and agencies took part in the two-day event. President Ghani and CEO Abdullah both attended as well. A major focus were presentations by the Afghan leaders on their vision on how to implement reforms, establish security, and become a more self-sufficient nation over the next five years. For their part, the attending nations renewed their commitment to continue funding the Afghan nations' security, development, and government.

Agreement on Afghan Migrants. It appears that a deal has been agreed upon between the Afghan government and the EU on the return of Afghan migrants who have been refused asylum in Europe. Reportedly the Afghan government needed to accept the deal - accepting forcibly returned immigrants (or refugees) - as a condition of continued foreign aid. Read more in "EU Publishes Agreement to Speed Return of Afghan Migrants Refused Asylum", The Wall Street Journal, October 4, 2016.

Comments by NATO Secretary General. On Wednesday, October 5, 2016, Jens Stoltenberg conducted a 6-min press conference at the Brussels Conference where he expressed his support of the results of the conference and answered questions on the current security situation in Afghanistan. Posted by NATO on Youtube.com, Oct 5, 2016.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=loqrXFu5EZM

Speech by ICRC President. Mr. Peter Maurer of the International Committee of the Red Cross delivered a speech at the Brussels Conference. (ICRC, 5 Oct 2016).

Secretary of State John Kerry Remarks. John Kerry has to provide his spin of course. Read his transcript from Oct 5th.

Speech by CEO Abdullah. The Afghan Chief Executive Officer provided a presentation on 5 Oct. Transcript is available on his official website - ceo.gov.af.

Speech by President Ghani. The president of Afghanistan spoke before the Brussels Conference on 5 Oct. The transcript has been posted by Office of the President website.

Need more info? The Afghan government has a website set up to provide info on the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan to include agendas, speakers, achievements (hmmmm), Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework (ANPDF), progress reports, documents and speeches, photo gallery, media resources, news, and more. http://policymof.gov.af/bca/


Sunday, October 2, 2016

Brussels Conference: 4-5 October 2016

The European Union (EU) and Afghanistan are going to be co-hosting the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan during 4-5 October 2016. More than 70 countries and 20 international organizations and agencies are expected to participate. The aim of the conference is to endorse a program of comprehensive reforms within the Afghan government and society that will ensure the continued support of the international community (funding, military assistance, etc.). The results of the conference will likely provide additional assurance to the Afghan government and people of the support of the international community over the next several years. Whether the conference results are instrumental in the attainment of reforms by the Afghan government is very much in question.

President Ghani and CEO Abdullah will be attending as well as other Afghan governmental officials. Afghanistan will attempt to present in a positive light the achievements it has made since 2014 and also highlight its vision of peace, stability, and prosperity for Afghanistan for the next several years.

It will be interesting to see if the European nations (and others) accept Afghanistan's attempts to convince them that progress is being made in the oversight and accountability of funding, on women's issues, and on important reforms that will provide good governance and reduce the rampart corruption.

Also, an interesting aspect will be what concessions Afghanistan will make in regards to the thousands of Afghans who illegally found their way to Europe and who the European nations would like to repatriate. A news report in The Guardian (Sep 28, 2016) states that there is a secret European Union memorandum that Afghanistan will need to agree to accepting 80,000 deportees or lose aid.

Read more about the conference:
EU Statement, European Union, September 27, 2016.
EU Memo on Afghan Refugees, European Union, 3 March 2016.
"Will the World Keep Funding Afghanistan?", The Diplomat, Sep 29, 2016.

Ambassador Olson (AfPak) Presents Narrative

On Thursday, September 29th, Ambassador Richard Olson (Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan) presented his views about Afghanistan's security, future, government, and the upcoming Brussels Conference at the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Some points the ambassador made are provided below.

Security. The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) are improving over time. The Taliban have not been able to take and hold a significant population center and have not achieved their strategic goals during 2016.

National Unity Government (NUG). Ambassador Olson says the National Unity Government is not perfect but it is the best way forward at this time. Both the Afghan President and Afghan CEO remain committed to conducting elections in the future. The United States will continue to stand behind and support the Afghan government. The U.S. is encouraging the Afghan government to institute governmental reforms, hold elections, and conduct a constitutional Loya Jirga.

Brussels Conference. The Afghan agenda will guide the international agenda at the Brussels Conference for the future of Afghanistan's security and development. The Resolute Support mission was extended by NATO in July at the Warsaw Summit. The Brussels Conference will provide a guide to the future development needs of Afghanistan. The antecendent for Brussels was the Tokyo Conference four years ago. Olson said international support is conditional and conditioned; not a blank check.

Afghan Interpreters. He waffles here. Says all the right things but . . . offers little concrete suggestions on how to improve the situation for more SIV for the Afghans who put their lives at risk for the U.S. military.

Lots of other topics were discussed during the question and answer session about India, NUG, peace deal with HIG, Pakistan, conditionality of continued funding by donor nations, economy, anti-corruption, refugees, and more. An informative presentation and Q&A on lots of topics; but beware of the party line when he talks about security, corruption, and progress in Afghanistan.

You can view the conference at the link below:
https://webcast.jhu.edu/Mediasite/Play/95590766d4ee4ef69715ba08cc99ca341d


Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Event - Tackling Kidnapping, Hijack & Hostage Taking 2015

Quaynote Communications is hosting an event - Tackling Kidnapping, Hijack & Hostage Taking 2015 in London, UK on May 13-14, 2015 at the Royal Aeronautical Society.
www.quaynote.com/ankiti/www/?code=kid15

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Panel Discussion - Private Sector Investment

John Hopkins University will be hosting a panel discussion entitled "Sounding the Bell: Opening the Market to Private Sector Investment in Afghanistan and Pakistan" on Thursday, April 16, 2015 from 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm (EDT). The panel event will explore how international aid organizations can partner with the private sector to support economic growth and promote foreign investment. The university and USAID are hosting and organizing the event. Panelists include:

Larry Sampler, USAID
Gulmaqsood Sabit, Ministry of Finance, Afghanistan
Dr. Asad Khan, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Pakistan
Arsalan Lutfi, Chief of Operations, Trivision
Dean White, President, Tetra Tech ES Inc.

You can access the webcast at this link "Sounding the Bell".

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Jamestown Foundation Terrorism Conference - Dec 9, 2010

The Jamestown Foundation 4th Annual Terrorism Conference will be held on December 9, 2010 in Washington, D.C.  Learn more about the conference at the link below:

http://www.eventbrite.com/event/941206173