Brussels Conference on Afghanistan Day One: a prosperous Afghanistan through empowered women and regional integration
The first two events of the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan (#AfghanConf) take place this afternoon, the first on women empowerment and the second on regional economic cooperation.
The High Representative/Vice-President, Federica Mogherini and the Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica will represent the European Union. The “Empowered Women, Prosperous Afghanistan” event will bring together high-level participants and panellists from across the international community, including the First Lady of Afghanistan, Rula Ghani, to discuss the ways and means of empowering Afghan women to build a stable and prosperous Afghanistan.
The second event, entitled “Regional Integration and Prosperity”, will focus on the importance of the engagement of Afghanistan’s neighbours and the international community more broadly in investing in political support and economic integration for the future of Afghanistan.
Ahead of both events, Commissioner Mimica and the Minister of Finance of Afghanistan, Eklil Ahmad Hakimi will sign a State-building contract, providing new financial assistance in the form of direct budget support from the European Commission to the Afghan Government.
A number of bilateral meetings will take place throughout the day, as well as the EU-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue and the EU-Central Asia Ministerial Meeting.
Tomorrow, under the patronage of the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, and the President of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani, over 70 countries and 20 international organisations and agencies will come together in support of ensuring continued international political and financial support to Afghanistan over the next four years. For more information on the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan, including the indicative programme, media advisories, and background information, visit the website.
