Secretary-General, friends and colleagues,
– One year ago the Resolute Support Mission was launched in this very room. Afghanistan now stands at a crossroads and the international community needs to show continuous and long-term commitment to the Afghan people. If Afghanistan returns to a security vacuum, consequences will not only affect Afghanistan and its people but also all of us.In this context, I would like to inform you that from January until October this year, Sweden has received 22 000 unaccompanied children from Afghanistan. We must prevent an exodus from Afghanistan. To have so many young people leave the country will be a great loss to Afghanistan.And this is my first point: a peace process leading to a political settlement is the only viable option to end the conflict. We would like to commend President Ghani’s outreach to all parties in the region to initiate a peace process with the Taliban.Läs talet