UN envoy: Extend mission in Afghanistan
NEW YORK: China supports the recommendation of the UN secretarygeneral on extending the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (Unama) for another year and calls for more attention to the economic reconstruction in Afghanistan, Chinese UN ambassador Li Baodong said here.
Li told a Security Council open debate on Unama that peace- building in Afghanistan was at a crucial juncture.
“As the country enter its transformational decade from 2015, the Afghan government and people are facing a peaceful reconstruction,” he said. “China welcomes the positive work done by the Afghan government for national reconstruction, and supports Afghanistan in strengthening efforts in political, rule of law, security and development fields, promoting national reconciliation and Kabul process, and implementing the peace and reintegration programme.”
“We support Afghan national institutions in comprehensively assuming responsibilities in various fields, especially in gradually taking over the onerous task of maintaining national security,” he added, saying China hoped the international community would fully respect the independence of the country—