US expects donors to pledge $3bn a year for Afghanistan

An international conference is expected to pledge over $3 billion a year in development support for Afghanistan next week but funds will be dependent on reforms and countering corruption, a senior US official was quoted by Yahoo news as saying on Thursday.

Richard Olson, US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, told a Washington forum the US government would seek via Congress to maintain US assistance "at, or near" current levels for the period to 2020.

The European Union and Afghanistan will host a donor conference on Oct. 4-5 in Brussels to seek backing for reforms to stabilize and develop the country. 

Some 70 states and 30 international organizations and agencies will attend.

The conference comes in the context of a greatly scaled-back US and international military presence in Afghanistan, and is aimed at helping the Kabul government establish an agenda for increased self-reliance.

Source: MENA