International donors pledge $13 billion for Afghanistan; US looks to exit

International donors have pledged about $13 billion over the next four years for war-stricken Afghanistan at a time when the US is accelerating its plan to exit the country following a peace deal with Taliban militants.

About 70 countries and more than 30 international organizations during a one-day meeting in Geneva on Tuesday offered $3.3 billion for 2021 “with annual commitments expected to stay at the same level year-on-year” for the next four years, the United Nations said in a statement in Kabul.

International donors set conditions including protection of human rights, tackling corruption, rule of law and gender equality for contributing $13 billion through 2024, Shamruz Khan Masjidi, the spokesman of Afghan Finance Ministry said in a WhatsApp message. Almost half of the nation’s annual budget of 452 billion Afghani ($5.9 billion) comes from international donors, Masjidi added.