Inauguration Ceremony of the Interim Authority in Afghanistan
(Outline)

December 23, 2001

1. Date: 22 December 2001 (Saturday)

2. Venue: Hall of the Ministry of the Interior of Afghanistan (Kabul)

3. Participants: Approximately 2,000 persons

(1) Afghanistan

1. Interim Authority
   Almost all Interim Administration members, including Chairman Hamid Karzai, Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Abdullah, Minister of Interior Yunus Qanooni, Vice Chairman and Minister of Defense Mohammad Qasir Fahim, and Vice Chairman and Minister of Finance Hedayat Amin Arsala.
2. Other senior figures
   President of the Northern Alliance Burhanuddin Rabbani, General Abdul Rashid Dostum, Former Governor of Herat Province Ismail Khan, Dr. Hariri, Haji Qadeer, and Peer Ghilani, among others.

(2) Representatives of other countries and international organizations
Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Shigeo Uetake, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General Lakhdar Brahimi, Minister for Foreign Affairs Louis Michel of the Kingdom of Belgium (Chair of the EU), Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Representative of the Organization of the Islamic Conference), Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar and Educational Minister Zubeda Jalal of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and Minister of External Affairs Jaswant Singh of India, among others.

(In addition, ambassadors and charge d'affaires from many countries were in attendance) (Special Envoy to Afghanistan James Dobbins of the United States, Special Envoy Cooper of the United Kingdom, Special Envoy of the Federal Republic of Germany Hans-Joachim Daerr, Special Envoy of the Republic of Italy Enrico De Maio. Ambassadors to Pakistan of the following countries were also in attendance: Russian Federation, Canada, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Swiss Confederation, the Kingdom of Sweden, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Republic of Poland, Romania, and the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Representing the People's Republic of China, the Deputy Ambassador was present.)

4. Course of the Inauguration Ceremony

(1) Following readings from the Koran and the singing of the National Anthem, speeches were given by members of the Interim Authority of Afghanistan and representatives from other countries (Special Representative Brahimi, Foreign Minister Kharrazi of Iran, Foreign Minister Michel of Belgium).

(2) After these speeches, President of the Northern Alliance Rabbani gave a speech, in which he clearly announced the transfer of power to Chairman Karzai.

(3) Responding to this, Chairman Karzai gave a speech, after which the formal inauguration ceremony of the Chairman took place. Following the Chairman, all members of the Interim Administration were sworn in and a speech was given by Minister of Interior Yunus Qanooni, representing the members of the Interim Authority.

5. Activities of Senior Vice-Minister Uetake in Afghanistan

(1) Following the inauguration ceremony, Senior Vice-Minister Uetake held talks with Chairman Karzai, in which, (a) he recognized the Interim Authority in Afghanistan; (b) given the importance of the role that must be played by the Interim Authority in bringing stability to Afghanistan, pledged that Japan would contribute US$1 million to the Trust Fund established within the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); and (c) requested that Chairman Karzai attend the International Conference on Reconstruction Assistance to Afghanistan to be held in Tokyo on 21 and 22 January, 2002. In response, Chairman Karzai expressed his gratitude for Japan's contribution to the Trust Fund, in addition to stating that he was looking forward to attending the international conference in Tokyo. Prior for his departure to Kabul, at Islamabad International Airport, Senior Vice-Minister Uetake stated to Vice Chair and Minister of Finance Hedayat Amin Arsala that in addition to the above-mentioned three points, from 23 December it was planned to dispatch an Economic Cooperation Mission (headed by Director of the Development Cooperation Division of the Economic Cooperation Bureau Tetsuya Ishii) in order conduct a survey concerning reconstruction assistance.

(2) In addition, and although only briefly, Senior Vice-Minister Uetake spoke with Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah, Minister of Interior Qanooni, Vice Chairman and Minister of Finance Arsala, Foreign Minister Michel of Belgium, Foreign Minister Sattar of Pakistan and Minister of External Affairs Singh of India.