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After 2014 we will not "simply abandon Afghanistan" said the Chancellor, but accompany it "as it becomes a peaceful state". The central importance of the security situation was once again illustrated by two brutal attacks today in Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif, which left many dead and injured. The Chancellor extended her condolences to President Hamid Karzai and stressed that, "a lot of hard work was still needed," to ensure security in Afghanistan. The Afghan side must accept responsibility for security, step by step. Only a political solution will bring peace to Afghanistan, said the Chancellor. Germany aims to support the process of reconciliation, but also to extend economic cooperation with Afghanistan. 

Negotiating a partnership agreement

At their meeting Angela Merkel and Hamid Karzai agreed that Germany and Afghanistan would begin negotiations on a partnership agreement. This agreement should, said the Chancellor, "look to the future". She could envisage vocational training and economic cooperation playing a particularly important role, alongside the continued training of Afghan security forces, she said.

Cooperation on training

"The young people of Afghanistan must have a future." The experience that Germany has in the fields of training engineers and mining academies could help Afghanistan to train its young people properly. At the same time this cooperation in the field of training and more intensive economic cooperation should help to ensure that Afghanistan "enjoys fair access to its own resources," stressed the Chancellor.