Bonn (Germany):
Foreign Minister SM Krishna has said that Afghanistan continues to face a potent threat to its security from terrorism and insurgency being fuelled from outside its borders.
Speaking at the International Afghan Conference in Bonn, Germany, Mr Krishna said, "Ten years is too short a time to rebuild a country even with the best will and efficiency in the world. The international community needs to stay engaged in Afghanistan for the long term, for both its security and development. Afghanistan will require enormous assistance for a long time."
There is a need for something like a 'Marshall Plan' for Afghanistan, he added.
Mr Krishna also said, "We should not make the mistakes of the past and let Afghanistan slip back. We must ensure that Afghanistan's security is ensured through non-interference in its internal affairs."
Germany today opened a major conference on Afghanistan's future, vowing that the international community won't abandon the country after NATO combat troops pull out in 2014.
Germany's foreign minister Guido Westerwelle said that 10 years after the September 11 attacks on the United States, the world had a vested interest in a "stable and peaceful Afghanistan which does not pose a threat".
A previous conference in Bonn in December 2001 established an interim government for Afghanistan after US-led troops ousted the Taliban, which had offered safe harbour to Al Qaeda.