At the 2020 Afghanistan Conference in November Afghanistan and the international community committed to joint development objectives for 2021-2024 and the international partners announced pledges worth US$ 3.3 billion for this year alone. Hard work now lies ahead, in making the commitments count for the benefit of the Afghan people. Ahead of the Conference, Afghan artist group Art Lords together with Afghans in five provinces painted murals on blast walls - that now serve as reminders of the hopes of the people.

International community renews its long-term commitment to the people of Afghanistan with significant pledges at the conference. Afghanistan and international partners commit to shared development objectives for 2021–2024, and adopt a communique calling for an end to the war and a durable peace, stability and prosperity.

The civil society statement sets out a demand for peace in Afghanistan against a backdrop of the deaths of 100,000 civilians having been killed or injured in the last ten years and, more recently, a campaign of assassinations targeted at journalists, human rights workers, religious scholars and civil society activists.

Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto and Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Ville Skinnari will travel Geneva to lead the 2020 Afghanistan Conference to be held on 23–24 November. Finland has co-organised the conference together with the Afghan Government and the United Nations. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions, the international ministerial conference will be held virtually from Geneva.

Finland is committed to support inclusive participation of Afghan civil society in the 2020 Afghanistan Conference. Coordination of the civil society was awarded to BAAG the British and Irish Agencies Afghanistan Group (BAAG) and its partner Civil Society Working Committee (CSWC) to advance this objective. The CSO statement presented by the official CSO delegation on 24th of November will be a synthesis of national discussions and provincial consultations conducted in Afghanistan.

As final preparations are made for the 2020 Afghanistan Conference on 23-24 November, Special Envoy Janne Taalas visited Doha to provide briefings on the upcoming pledging event.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto paid a two-day visit to Afghanistan on 26–27 October 2020. The main purpose of the visit was to discuss current issues and the 2020 Afghanistan Conference, co-hosted by Finland, the Afghan Government and the United Nations, which will be held in November. “The pledging conference will take place in the middle of a historic peace process. Support from the international community is needed to have a sustainable foundation for the peace process. As one of the co-hosts of the Conference, Finland plays a central role in ensuring that this support will be available,” Haavisto says.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto is visiting Afghanistan. During the visit, Foreign Minister Haavisto meets representatives of the Government of Afghanistan and the country’s leadership and partner organisations engaged in development cooperation with Finland as well as representatives of civil society organisations and the international community.

KABUL, 6 October 2020 – Afghanistan and international partners in Kabul today officially launched preparations for the 2020 Afghanistan Conference, scheduled to take place 23-24 November at the Palais des Nations in Geneva and be co-hosted by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GoIRA), Finland and the United Nations.

The 2020 Afghanistan Conference scheduled for 23-24 November 2020 in Geneva is a milestone event in Afghanistan’s journey to peace, prosperity and self-reliance.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland has allocated EUR 200,000 in discretionary government grants for the coordination of civil society participation in the 2020 Afghanistan Conference to be held in November. The grant was allocated to the work of the British and Irish Agencies Afghanistan Group (BAAG) done in cooperation with the Civil Society Working Committee (CSWC) to advance this objective.

The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (MFA) announces a Call for Proposals for International Non-Governmental Organizations (INGOs)/globally operating Non-Governmental Organizations (INGO support) concerning a coordination of the Afghan civil society’s contribution to the Afghanistan pledging conference slated to take place in November 2020. The Call for Proposals is open from Thursday 6th of August to Friday 21st of August.

The Fourth Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) concluded today after two days of constructive discussions between the Afghanistan government and international partners on the serious challenges faced by the country, the opportunities for development and peace, and government’s vision, plan and strategy for next five years up to 2025. The SOM was attended by senior officials from more than 40 countries and international organizations, ministers and officials from the Afghan government, as well as civil society and private sector representatives.