For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
November 28, 2001
President Discusses Humanitarian Aid to Afghanistan with UN Secretary General
Remarks by the President and U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan
The Roosevelt Room
10:51 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: It's my honor to welcome back to the
White House our friend, Secretary General Kofi Annan. Today
we've had a valuable discussion about how to make sure that the good
intentions of America and others around the world are
met. And those intentions have to do with feeding people who
starve in Afghanistan.
Prior to September the 11th there was a lot of hunger in that
country, primarily because it was run by a government that didn't
really care about the human condition. After September the
11th, obviously the war has aggravated the situation, and as I declared
to the American people, our good government and our great nation is
going to do something about it.
And around the table today are people who are responsible to making
sure, as best as they possibly can, food is delivered, and medicine is
delivered, and clothing is delivered to innocent, hurting people of
Afghanistan.
And the Secretary General has been so great on this issue, and he's
assembled a wonderful team who are here to brief the Secretary of State
and myself about the efforts.
The degree of difficulty is high. There's no question
we've got a large task ahead of ourselves. We've got ample
money, and the United States government has been a major contributor of
that money. We've got the food. The fundamental
question is, in an environment that is not very secure, how do we get
the food to the people. And that's what we're working
on. And I'm convinced that we can do a very good job of
meeting that objective.
So, Mr. General, thanks for coming. It's an honor to
have you back. I appreciate you bringing your team with you.
SECRETARY GENERAL ANNAN: Thank you very much, Mr.
President, for the discussions this morning with my team.
The Afghan people have suffered for quite a long time through a
series of wars, and recently, drought. And we've been trying
to get food to them. And as the President said, it's not always been
easy. Even sometimes when we have the food in the country,
we cannot always get it to the needy.
We are now, with the help of the U.S. and other donors, able to get
in as much food as we think we will need. But because of the
insecurity, we have difficulties reaching the needy and the people, and
we are working on that. And I hope the situation will
clarify in the not-too-distant future to allow us to reach all those in
need.
I think it is important for the public to know the numbers we are
dealing with, and here I'm talking about refugees -- Afghan refugees in
the neighboring countries, particularly Pakistan and Iran, and the
internally displaced people. We are talking about 6 million
needy people -- between 6 million to 7.5 million.
We are going to do our best, with the support that we are getting.
And I think, on the political front, if I may say a word, we are
meeting the Afghan parties in Bonn. Mr. Brahimi is
discussing with them as we sit here. And so far, they're off
to a good start. The parties seem to want a broad-based
government, and I hope they will be able to settle this -- the
establishment of the government before they leave Bonn.
The willingness of the U.S. and other donor countries and the
international community is clear, to work with them in rebuilding their
society. But we need a partner, and the partner has to be an
effective Afghan government that is cohesive, that is stable, that will
work with the donor community to ensure that the resources that are
being applied to rehabilitation and reconstruction is used
effectively.
The challenge is theirs. They have an historic
opportunity to put the past behind them and form a broad-based
government that will be loyal to the Afghan people, and respect its
international obligations. And if they do that, from all the
commitments that I have heard from the President and other leaders, the
resources will be there over the period in a sustained manner to help
rebuild Afghanistan.
So I urge them to seize the moment for the sake of their people and
for the sake of their country.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Mr. General.
END 10:54
A.M. EST
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