From 1 December 2017 the Cooperation Agreement on Partnership and Development (CAPD) between the European Union and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan will provisionally apply. This agreement, which was signed by the High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini and the Afghani Minister of Finance, Eklil Hakimi on 18 February, represents the first ever legally-binding framework for relations between the EU and Afghanistan.

“We are entering into a new phase of our cooperation. Our new agreement will allow the European Union to better support Afghanistan and the Afghan people, through working even more closely together, – the EU top diplomat Federica Mogherini said. “The agreement complements the new strategy on Afghanistan that our Union has just adopted, where we look at peace, security and development of the country as our shared priorities. It is a partnership agreement by name and by nature; it shows that the European Union will continue to stand by Afghanistan and Afghan people.”

” At the October 2016 Brussels Conference, the European Union as a whole made the largest pledge of €5 billion to support Afghanistan’s development agenda up to 2020. Today we confirm our engagement to be a strong partner of Afghanistan in its reform efforts” –Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica added. “Our new agreement will give further impetus to our cooperation in a range of key areas such as development, gender equality, trade and investment and regional cooperation. The European Union will continue its support for a peaceful and prospering Afghanistan and to the benefit of the Afghan people.”