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Afghan News 1 CONTENTS Ambassador’S Message 6 Embassy Activities 6 Culture Project 10 AFGHAN NEWS H.E

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Afghan News 1 CONTENTS Ambassador’S Message 6 Embassy Activities 6 Culture Project 10 AFGHAN NEWS H.E February 2015 NEWSLETTER Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Tokyo Afghan News 1 CONTENTS Ambassador’s Message 6 Embassy Activities 6 Culture Project 10 AFGHAN NEWS H.E. President Ghani Meets With The Hon. Mr. Yasushi Misawa His Excellency President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani met with The Honorable Mr. Yasushi Misawa, Japan’s Deputy Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, at the Presidential Palace. During the meeting, H.E. President Ghani thanked the people and Govern- ment of Japan for their benevolent sup- port and cooperation in Afghanistan’s attempts for achieving sustainable and self-reliant development. The Hon. Mr. Misawa promised that the people and Government of Japan would continue to assist Afghanistan in the country’s efforts toward achieving self- sustaining socio-economic develop- ment. Peace, economic development, good governance, accountability and transparency were de- scribed by H.E. President Ghani during the meeting as His and His Excellency Chief Executive Officer Dr. Abdullah Abdullah’s priorities and they are working fastidiously to implementing the changes and structural reforms necessary to achieve such outcomes. 1 Newsletter, February 2015 The Hon. Mr. Misawa praised H.E. President Ghani over the formation of the Government of National Unity and Afghanistan’s first ever democratic transition of power. The continuation of Japan’s role as a world leader in spreading peace and democracy is vital for accomplishing the desired objectives of an international community enjoying the fruits of peaceful sustainable de- velopment. While in Afghanistan, The Hon. Mr. Misawa also met with Afghan Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Mr. Salahuddin Rabbani, and congratulated Him on His appointment as the peo- ples’ democratically elected representative for Foreign Affairs and wished Him success includ- ing in furthering Afghanistan’s relations with Japan and other nations of the world. H.E. Minis- ter Rabbani expressed His gratitude for Japan’s assistance and close friendship with Afghanistan which has directly resulted in peace and access to services, such as health and education, in- creasing for the people of Afghanistan. H.E. Minister Mr. Rabbani said that Japan’s contribution and cooperation in enhancing sustainable development is a clear indication of Japan’s long term commitment and friendly relations with Afghanistan. In return, The Hon. Mr. Misawa assured that Japan would continue to support Afghanistan in the country’s process of completely trans- ferring socio-economic development and security responsibilities to the people of Afghanistan which will not only be for the benefit of the people of Afghanistan but also for the region and for the entire world. H.E. CEO Dr. Abdullah Meets Human Rights Watch His Excellency Chief Ex- ecutive Dr. Abdullah Abdul- lah met with representatives of Human Rights Watch, Mr. Phelim Kine and Ms. Patricia Gossman, Deputy Director for Asia and Chief Researcher for Afghanistan, respectively. Hosted at His office at the Sepidar Palace, H.E. CEO Dr. Abdullah welcomed the group’s con- tinuing activities in the country that help to ensure the ever increasing implementation of the country’s constitution in support of human rights. H.E. CEO Dr. Abdullah communicated that freedom of speech and a free and active media are one of Afghanistan’s proudest achievements during the previous thir- teen years and the Government of National Unity would ensure that such progress continues. Meeting and working with members of the community and civil society has been a common oc- currence for H.E. CEO Dr. Abdullah as the country’s leadership works fastidiously to imple- ment structural reforms to the nation’s institutions. 2 Newsletter, February 2015 H.E. President Ghani Attends Munich Security Conference During an important speech at the Munich Secu- rity Conference in Germany, His Excellency President Ashraf Ghani emphasized the global na- ture of terrorism and stressed the importance for the international community to continue support- ing Afghanistan. H.E. President Ghani arrived in Germany on the 6th of February to attend the 51st round of the Munich Conference which was at- tended by around 400 world leaders, policy mak- ers, business executives and experts who are dis- cussing important security events facing the inter- national community. In His speech which was the closing event of the conference, H.E. President Ghani provided an inspirational message of the progress that Afghanistan has made over the previous thirteen years and also warned of the negative consequences that would occur if the international community forgot the people of Afghanistan. Afghanistan is currently in a critical transition period as the country takes on complete responsibility for its own security and has taken important political and economic steps forward on the path to future self reliance, despite the criminal acts of terror that are being perpetrated against the people of Afghanistan. H.E. President Ghani said that the people of Afghanistan are ready not just to open a new page but to start a new book in their lives and in the history of the country. The Afghan peoples’ gratitude for the many sacrifices and be- nevolent assistance and support were expressed. As leader of the host country, German Chancellor Her Excellency Angela Merkel stated that a great deal of progress has occurred in Afghanistan, particularly in the areas of education, health care, media and the economy. H.E. Chancellor Merkel reiterated that everything must be done in order to preserve and further develop the great progress that has already been made. H.E. President Ghani’s speech received international acclaim, particularly in the German press and excerpts of the speech have been included below. In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful, Ambassador, Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I am the elected President of a 99.9% Muslim country, a country where 38% of the electorate were women. On December 16th, 2014, our children playing volleyball were massacred in cold blood and when I called their parents, they told me they have the resolve of steel to stand up to the threats of terror, that they want peace, a peace to enable their children to go to school and be- come like me, pleased with the world, firmly anchored in our great civilization, and committed to equal rights. We, ladies and gentlemen, speak for true Islam, for the beliefs of people and for the aspirations of the future generations. Daesh [ISIL], al-Qaida and the rest of the networks are the aberrations and we must have the courage to be able to speak for the absolute majority. Together, there is a 3 Newsletter, February 2015 substantial amount that we can do, but what is the nature of the threat? I would like to speak of the ecology of terror, terror has become a system in a distinctive ecology. And unfortunately, Af- ghanistan where our successes have made us not be headlines, because when will the media re- port on a success, is still the focal point of the media of this ecology. The threat of this ecology is global but Afghanistan is the meeting ground of this global ecology, lest we forget this and take our eyes elsewhere, there will be consequences. This is not to say that we are not committed, the world does not owe us, we must first take the responsibility to reorganize and we are. The reform programs that we have embarked on are sub- stantial, focused, and their key goal is to honor the electorate. In terms of the idea, we have done what has been unprecedented, namely a victor in an election not claiming the prize, but forming a Government of National Unity so that all the electorate would be represented. Political consen- sus is the first basis of moving forward and we are moving forward. Second, we have engaged the region. Our active diplomacy has brought a series of trilateral rela- tionships, the most significant of which has been China, United States and Afghanistan. Equally, our engagement with Pakistan has been intense, comprehensive and hopefully in quiet. We do not make announcements, we look for outcomes. And we are hopeful that there will be outcomes that will make results that will be game changers in our part of the world. We have engaged our Central Asian neighbors, and soon we will have witnessed the birth of the Lapis lazuli route, a route that would connect Afghanistan to Europe via Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Tur- key. We have engaged all members of five circles of our foreign policy, and here particularly again I would like to thank the United States and the framework nations of Germany, Italy, Turkey, UK and other members who are contributing to the Resolute Support Mission. But on the ecology of terror, our focus is country by country rather than on understanding the ecological system. Our response system is slow, because we really don’t understand networks. We take the threats individually rather than systemically. And it is very important not to isolate the events from Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Libya from what is unfolding in Afghanistan and South Asia. Because the threats from the network perspective are becoming stronger, the state response is, unfortunately, weaker. The key question is who finances the conflict and who benefits from it? It is not that the dis- course discursive part is unimportant, but without understanding the deep roots of financing. The global criminal economy is worth 1.7 trillion a year, and the criminalization of part of Afghani- stan’s economy is certainly among the top 20 contributors to this. So, in terms of response, we need compacts for stability and prosperity and this must address four levels; one is at the national level. What enables terrorism to thrive and instability to prevail, is when the citizen is not in the center stage.
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