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I would like to thank the government of Afghanistan and especially Finance Minister Ghani for their hospitality during my stay.
The purpose of my trip was to get a better understanding of the Afghan reconstruction process including 1) progress to date, 2) coordination efforts, and 3) the extent to which funds have been allocated directly to the Afghan government.
I will report on my trip to Secretary O’Neill and thers in my own government and also to the Afghanistan Reconstruction Steering Group (ARSG), which will be meeting in Washington later this week.
I had good meetings with President Karzai, Minister Ghani, Governor Ahady and Ismail Khan. I am very impressed with the progress made by the Afghan government. The Finance Ministry has put in place a financial accountability system to track revenue and spending. The currency exchange is ready to go and the new investment law will help to attract investors. The government will cut export taxes to zero and plans to rationalize the customs law. I also observed good regional cooperation during my visit to Herat.
Regarding reconstruction efforts, I heard many comments that these efforts need to be sped up and to be better coordinated. I had good meetings with international financial organizations as well as bi-lateral donors and I believe that we can address these issues now. The road construction that will be started soon by the United States, Japan and Saudi Arabia is a good example.
I think coordination can be improved by setting overall measurable goals as well as the means to achieve these goals with certain timelines. For example, the measure of success for road building could be the number of kilometers paved.
The government still needs funds to cover its recurrent costs, which includes salaries. The United States fully supports the Afghan government in their efforts. I will report back on these findings to the ARSG and the U.S. government.