Afghan FM urges continued int'l support

UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Afghan Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta on Monday called on the international community to continue its long-term commitment to the security and development of the Central Asian country.

"What the Afghan nation expects and deserves from a renewed partnership with the international community is the reassurance of long-term commitment and solidarity," Spanta told leaders attending the general debate of the UN General Assembly.

"They are rightly fearful of being abandoned once again to lawlessness, extremism, and external interference. Abandoning the Afghan nation, which has endured years of suffering and pain, will undermine the spirit of collective cooperation and the ideals of the UN," he said.

"It will also undermine, for many generations to come, the moral credibility of those who fail to honor their promises and commitments to Afghans," he said. "Furthermore, it will embolden extremists in the region and beyond."

On the situation in Afghanistan, Spanta said that there has been "many positive trends and developments" since the collapse of the Taliban regime.

"Alongside its struggle with terrorism, drugs, weak state institutions and corruption, a new Afghanistan is emerging," he said. "This new Afghanistan is a growing democracy with rising state institutions, a budding civil society, a growing private sector and strong international solidarity."