Germany Pledges Support for Afghan Security

May 16, 2012 from Al Jazeera English

The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, has pledged to give $193m a year to help support Afghanistan's security forces after NATO forces withdraw from the country in 2014. Merkel and Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's president, hailed a "milestone" in relations on Wednesday in Berlin after signing a a partnership agreement that ensured support for Afghanistan's police and military following the expected pullout of the foreign coalition. The pledge came a day after Australia, which also has troops in the international alliance in Afghanistan, pledged to provide Afghan security forces with $300m over a three-year period after the withdrawal. The funding by countries involved in NATO's war against Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters aims to secure Afghanistan's future amid fears that unrest and turmoil will spread further after the foreign forces hand over full responsibility to the country's security forces.

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Angela Merkel

Angela Merkel is the current Chancellor of Germany and the head of the political party CDU in Germany. In addition to being the first female German Chanchellor, she is also considered by Forbes magazine to be the most powerful woman in the world. Explore this topic

Hamid Karzai

Hamid Karzai GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 22 December 2001. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001. During the December 2001 International Conference on Afghanistan in Germany, Karza... Explore this topic

Afghanistan

Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked sovereign state forming part of South Asia, Central Asia, and to some extent Western Asia. It has a population of around 30 million inhabiting an area of approximately 647,500 km², making it the 42nd ... Explore this topic

NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree... Explore this topic

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.5 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city and is the second most populous city proper and the ninth most populous urban area in the European Union. Located in northeaster... Explore this topic

Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area. Neighbouring countries include Indonesia, East Tim... Explore this topic

Afghan National Security Forces

The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) may refer to: Military of Afghanistan Afghan National Army Afghan National Police Ministry of the Interior (Afghanistan) Afghan Border Police Afghan National Civil Order Police Afghan Air Force members of the National Directorate of S... Explore this topic

Chancellor of Germany

The Chancellor of Germany is the head of government of Germany. The official title in German is Bundeskanzler(-in) (literally, Federal Chancellor), often shortened to Kanzler(-in). In German politics the Chancellor is equivalent to that of a Prime Minister in many other countr... Explore this topic

Taliban

The Taliban, alternative spelling Taleban, is an Islamic fundamentalist political movement in Afghanistan. It spread into Afghanistan and formed a government, ruling as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan from September 1996 until December 2001, with Kandahar as the capital. Ho... Explore this topic

Al-Qaeda

Al-Qaida ist ein loses, weltweit operierendes Terrornetzwerk meist sunnitischer dschihadistischer Organisationen, das seit 1993 zahlreiche Terroranschläge in mehreren Staaten verübt hat, und mit zahlreichen weltpolitischen Ereignissen im Zusammenhang steht. Viele der von dem N... Explore this topic

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Hamid Karzai

Angela Merkel

Afghanistan

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