KABUL - The EU special representative has said post-transition Afghanistan will require significant assistance from the international community for the foreseeable future.
Speaking at the Rîga Conference, a major foreign and security policy forum in Northern Europe, Ambassador Vygaudas Uðackas said on Saturday the EU remained committed to forging a long-term partnership with Afghanistan.

Examples of conflict states had proved that nations must eventually be independent from aid and find ways of identifying, developing and utilising their own resources to support nation-building, he stressed.

According to an EU statement, the envoy said recent history of Afghanistan had brought forward the regional dimensions which had to be taken into consideration for long-term stability.

He added people-to-people links had been known to have a positive impact on many conflicts and it was particularly crucial for a country like Afghanistan in a region where there had long been a trust deficit between governments.