http://www.timesofearth.com/Politics/?NT=6&nid;=16763 An international conference on how to bring an end to the conflict in Afghanistan opened in London on Thursday. LONDON - Foreign ministers of over 70 countries gathered at a conference in London to discuss the current situation and future of Afghanistan. Issues related with Afghanistan's security, fight against terrorism, administration, and development will be discussed during the meeting which aims at raising international support to this country. A new fund aiming to help Afghanistan to integrate members of the Taliban to Afghan community is expected to be formed during conference. UN SG Ban Ki-Moon, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, British Foreign Minister David Miliband, US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton are among the participants of the conference where international organizations like UN, NATO, OIC, and World Bank are represented. Opening the 70-nation meeting, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said it was a "decisive" time for the future of the country. He also expressed support for plans to dramatically boost Afghan police and army numbers "to turn the tide in the fight against the insurgency." NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen called for a clear policy on the war-ravaged Central Asian state in an article in The Times newspaper. "The effort and sacrifice of our soldiers alone will not be enough to turn the corner in Afghanistan," he said. "It will have to be matched by a clear political 'road map'. The London conference will help to set that out." Afghan President Hamid Karzai, recently re-elected in a poll marred by fraud allegations, has expressed hope that his country's renewed efforts to reconcile with Taliban militants will be successful. He said the government would offer Taliban fighters financial support, housing and jobs in exchange for laying down their arms and returning to civilian life. The conference is expected to approve $500 million to allow Karzai to fund a program to reintegrate low and mid-level Taliban fighters back into society. The Taliban has said the campaign will fail as its fighters have no interest in material goods. On Monday, General Stanley McChrystal, commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, said he hoped the extra troops committed to Afghanistan by the U.S. would force the Taliban to accept a peace agreement. Another international conference on Afghanistan is expected to be held in Kabul in the months to come. Turkey hosted a similar conference recently in Istanbul where the importance of training of the Afghan army and law enforcement, and integration of members of the Taliban to Afghanistan, was emphasized for success in the fight against terrorist networks. -------------- Copyright 2010 THE TIMES OF EARTH (TOE). All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

• published: 28 Jan 2010
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