I thank Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Special Representative Eide for their briefings on the situation in Afghanistan and the work of UNAMA. I appreciate the important contribution made by Mr. Eide and UNAMA to promoting peace and stability in Afghanistan and welcome the presence and statement by Ambassador Tanin, Permanent Representative of Afghanistan.

We congratulate the people of Afghanistan on election of the country's new leadership and hope the new government will be formed and put into operation at an early date.

We support the efforts made by the Afghan government to stabilize the situation in the country. We hope the international community will increase input in an effort to assist the Afghan government in building the capacity of its armed forces and the police so as to enable them to take up the responsibility of maintaining security at an early date.

We support the efforts of the Afghan government and people to promote economic and social development and improve the people's livelihood. We call on the international community to provide more support and assistance in light of the development needs of the country.

We hope the international conferences on Afghanistan to be held in Istanbul, London and Kabul will achieve positive and concrete results.