More than $3bn has been pledged at an international donor conference in Tokyo to help rebuild Afghanistan over the next five years. The Minister for Foreign Affairs is attending the conference.
Brian Cowen announced that Ireland would donate €12m to the programme over three years. More than 50 countries and international organisations are represented at the gathering.
The United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, told delegates the course of reconstruction must be led by the Afghan people themselves. He said that they had suffered years of tyranny and neglect, but now had an opportunity to rebuild the country.
