TOKYO - On the eve of a major international donors' conference, important meetings on Afghanistan took place in the Japanese capital on Saturday.
A UNHCR symposium on "A Solutions Strategy for Afghan Refugees: Linking Humanitarian Action to Development Assistance" was held from 10am to 1pm at the U Thant International Conference Hall of the UN University.
The foreign ministry in Tokyo said during the three-hour deliberations, organized by the UNHCR Representation in Japan, participants discussed refugees' hardships and suggested ways of dealing with them.
Separately, representatives of Afghan and Japanese civil society organizations met from 2pm to 5pm (Tokyo time) and floated their proposals to organizers of the conference, set for tomorrow.
Organized by the Joint Working Group of Afghan and Japanese civil society organizations, the conference was co-sponsored by the Japan Platform and The Asia Foundation.
It was supported by the UN University, Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United States Agency for International Development.
A day earlier, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) hosted a symposium on "What we have done for Afghanistan since 2002: Lessons learned from the past experience" at the Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo.
Afghan Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development Wais Ahmad Barmak delivered a keynote speech in addition to presentations by representatives of JICA, Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) and Asia Foundation.
Meanwhile, Deputy Foreign Minister Javed Lodin chaired a meeting at the Afghan embassy in Japan. Representatives from the countries that attended last month's Heart of Asia Conference in Kabul took part in the meeting.
Also on Saturday, President Hamid Karzai left for Japan at the head of a high-level delegation to attend the conference. Representatives from nearly 70 countries and international organizations will participate in the day-long event.
Afghanistan would seek political and financial support from the international community during the transformation decade (2015-2025) to help it emerge a self-sufficient nation.
Organizers say the Afghan government will renew its commitments to accountability, efforts at eradicating corruption and introducing good governance.
Earlier, the finance minister had said they would seek more than $5 billion annually, but Da Afghanistan Bank Governor Noorullah Dilawari put the figure at $6 billion a year.
The conference would pledge $15 billion in development aid through 2015 to Afghanistan, according to a Japanese media report.
Karzai is scheduled to meet Japanese Emperor Akihito, Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius. (Pajhwok)