Merkel says committed to create stable Afghanistan
World
Merkel says committed to create stable Afghanistan
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday she was committed to creating a secure and stable Afghanistan and that an international meeting in January must decide how to shift responsibility for security to Afghans. In the text of her traditional New Year's address, Merkel did not say whether Germany was ready to boost the number of troops it can send to Afghanistan from the existing mandate of 4,500. The task of German soldiers, policemen and civilian reconstruction helpers in Afghanistan is important for us all: to create security and stability in Afghanistan so that there is no danger from there to our security or welfare, she said. Politically we must and we will create the conditions to gradually hand over responsibility to Afghans in coming years. That is the purpose of the Afghanistan conference at the end of January in London, she added. Merkel's second term has been dogged by a furor over Germany's role in Afghanistan after media revealed details about a German-ordered air strike in September that killed civilians. Merkel also warned that the situation in Europe's biggest economy could deteriorate next year before improving. We cannot expect the slump to be over quickly. Some things will get more difficult in the new year before they can get better, she said.However we have good reason to believe that Germany will master this crisis and that our country will emerge stronger from it, she added. Germany came out of its deepest post-war recession in the second quarter of this year. The government has forecast expansion of just 1.2 percent in 2010 and economists are worried the end of some stimulus measures will put a brake on growth.
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