“Creating Stability and Prosperity in Afghanistan and the Region,” the inaugural meeting of the LISD-sponsored project, “State Security, and Prosperity: Afghanistan, Its Neighbors and the Region,” was held October 26-29, 2006 in Vienna, Austria.  H.S.H. Hans Adam II of Liechtenstein, officially convened the conference, followed by an opening plenary session on the current security situation in Afghanistan.  Panelists of the opening plenary included Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry, Commander, Combined Forces Command Afghanistan; Robert P. Finn, former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan; and Daan Everts, NATO Senior Civilian Representative to Afghanistan. Additional conference sessions focused on issues relating to economy, infrastructure, energy, natural resources, and mining; the rule of law and effective governance; and international actors in Afghanistan. Keynote addresses were delivered by Thomas Koenigs, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Afghanistan; Joschka Fischer, former Foreign Minister of Germany; and Francesc Vendrell, EU Special Representative to Afghanistan.  Additional participants included leading academics, diplomats, government representatives, policymakers, and field practitioners as well as representatives from international organizations and private-sector businesses active in the region.

The overarching project, “State, Security, and Prosperity: Afghanistan, Its Neighbors, and the Region,” is focused on the future of Afghanistan and the region as the country moves out of immediate post-conflict transition and attempts to move toward a more politically and economically secure and viable state among its neighbors.  The project examines and evaluates the impacts and consequences that a successful, democratic, internationally-supported Afghan state would have for its neighbors in the region, as well as factors contributing to and detracting from the process of creating and securing such an Afghan state.  The project addresses the following issues: governance and government capacity; energy and infrastructure (specifically transportation and communication links); drugs, narco-trafficking, and narco-terrorism; reconstruction and development including infrastructure, health, and education; freedom of the media; regional power relations; and outside power interests in Afghanistan and the region.  The project is undertaken with funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York under the co-direction of Wolfgang Danspeckgruber, LISD Director, and Robert P. Finn, LISD Senior Research Associate.

Access to the meeting was by invitation only and all conference sessions were private and off-the-record.  A summary report with policy recommendations generated at the meeting will be available shortly.

Conference Program
Conference Participants
Preparatory Materials