Security And Governance Biggest Afghan Problems: Solana

[maddezmom]

Source: Reuters

Filed at 8:23 a.m. ET

KABUL (Reuters) - Poor security and the lack of good governance are the biggest challenges facing Afghanistan, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said on Monday.

More than six years after U.S.-led and Afghan forces overthrew the Taliban, violence has surged in Afghanistan and Western politicians and think-tanks have this year warned the country risks becoming a failed state and sliding into anarchy.

A major donors' conference on Afghanistan planned in France for June will focus on the issues of security and governance, Solana said. He said he discussed the two issues with President Hamid Karzai, who has led Afghanistan since the Taliban's 2001 ouster and relies on Western funds for 90 percent of his budget.

"When we talk about challenges, we have to talk about difficulties that prevent everything that is done ... one is security and that is important ... for the development of the country," Solana told a joint news conference with Karzai.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-afghan-eu.html