Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale will lead the United States delegation to the Afghanistan 2020 Conference, held virtually November 23-24. This event is the sixth quadrennial gathering of approximately 70 countries and international organizations coming together to coordinate international development support for Afghanistan. The conference is being hosted by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, the Government of Finland, and the United NationsN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
Under Secretary Hale will deliver a statement on behalf of the United States and introduce a video message from Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo on Tuesday, November 24, at 10:45 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. The conference will also feature a U.S.-led side event on Economic Priorities and Aid Effectiveness with keynote remarks from Acting USAID Deputy Administrator John Barsa on Monday, November 23. The U.S. delegation also includes Charge d’Affaires to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Ambassador Ross Wilson, Permanent Representative to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations and Other International Organizations Andrew P. Bremberg, Ambassador Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Kelly E. Currie, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asia Dean Thompson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Afghanistan Nancy Izzo Jackson, USAID Acting Assistant Administrator of the Bureau for Asia Javier Piedra, and USAID Mission Director for Afghanistan Tina Dooley-Jones. Throughout the conference, U.S. participants will emphasize our commitment to a secure, stable, democratic, and self-reliant Afghanistan that is at peace with itself and its neighbors.
As part of the delegation, Ambassador Ross Wilson will virtually present the U.S. government in the Economic Priorities and Aid Effectiveness Official Side Event on November 23. He will have a speaking role at the Sustainable Peace Building and Institutional and Societal Methods for Fighting Corruption Official Side Events both on November 23rd. , He will also participate as a panelist in the High-Level Meeting on Peace on November 23rd.
The entire conference will be live streamed on UN Web TV (http://webtv.un.org/). More information on the conference, including a schedule of events, is available at https://um.fi/afghanistan-conference-2020. Note that event times reflect the time in Geneva, Switzerland. For more information, please visit https://um.fi/afghanistan-conference-2020-for-media. Follow the conference on Twitter using #Afghanistan2020.
