Niebel in Kabul

Since liberal FDP politician Dirk Niebel was last in Afghanistan, a lot has changed and not really for the better. "When I came to Afghanistan with Foreign Minister Fischer eight years ago, we were still in a period of 'smile and wave'", he recalls.

"Our troops could travel in open vehicles and foot patrols could walk through villages with relatively little protection. They were treated as guests and they also reached out to the population. But all that has changed. The threats are much greater."

That's why Niebel's visit is taking place amid heavy security. His precise movements will remain a secret.

A clear message for the government

Niebel has come to the war-torn country with a clear message for President Hamid Karzai and other government representatives. "The Afghan government has to be on board and it has to do what it promised in London – enable better governance, fight corruption and ensure that the authorities are acknowledged by the population. This is imperative for our commitment to civil reconstruction and so we can help transfer responsibility to the civilian Afghan authorities."

Niebel's trip signals the German government's change of course. Its new strategy is to focus far more on reconstruction and double the funds for this to almost 430 million euros.

Some 250 million will come directly from the development minister's budget.

Streamlining aid to build up trust again

Most of the money will go to the north of Afghanistan where the German Bundeswehr is stationed. Niebel is due to visit various projects there during his trip. "In the past, our soldiers would often arrive in a place and be informed about the needs of the people. But it would take a long time to act upon the information – if this ever happened at all," he said.

"There was a breakdown of trust. We have new, flexible instruments now, so that we can be more direct and faster, and a peace dividend can be felt, with our forces really being responsible for security. The hope is that this feeling will spread out to regions that are less secure."

Niebel wants help to be given faster and more people to be reached. He also wants aid to be streamlined and for private aid organizations to work more closely with the Bundeswehr.

He has rejected criticism that he is trying to militarize development: "No-one in northern Afghanistan who doesn’t want to work as part of a coordinated and interlinked joint German political effort has to, but then he can’t benefit from these additional means either."

Author: Mark Kleber / act
Editor: Thomas Baerthlein