Us Will Remain Committed To Afghanistan Even After Pullout: Hillary Clinton

NEW DELHI: US secretary of state Hillary Clinton on Tuesday said that even after the Nato-ISAF withdrawal in 2014 from Afghanistan, US and NATO will maintain a "commitment of security and development support''. She said US will support Afghanistan's security and stability and will contribute to building capacity in their government, and enhancing their economic growth and development.

"That will continue. I think the details of that are being worked out on our side, speaking just for the United States, with the strategic agreement. And now we will negotiate a security agreement,'' she said at a joint press interaction after her meeting with foreign minister SM Krishna.

"There are a couple of milestones up ahead. At the Nato meeting in Chicago in about two weeks, there will be a reaffirmation of our commitment to Afghanistan, both to the transition to Afghan-led security and then after 2014. The Indian government will host a private sector conference to encourage more private sector investment in Afghanistan in June,'' she added.

Clinton said the al-Qaida plot to bomb a US bound airplane in Yemen suggested that terror groups keep trying to devise more and more perverse and terrible ways to kill innocent people. "It is a reminder why we have to remain vigilant," she said.

"The device did not appear to pose a threat to the public air service but the plot itself indicated that the terrorists keep trying to devise more and more perverse and terrible ways to kill innocent people," she added.

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