NATO chief urges the EU and the UN to step up efforts in Afghanistan

Agence France Presse reported that in an interview with the German daily, Tagesspiegel, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, secretary general of NATO, asserted that the declining security situation in Afghanistan calls for improved coordination and consolidation of efforts among international organizations, especially the UN and the European Union. Action on the development and state-building front, he said, is as crucial as the military effort to counter the related rise in insurgency and drug problems in the country. De Hoop Scheffer pointed out that international interest dictates action be taken in order to prevent Afghanistan from, yet again, becoming a hub for terrorism and to protect critical infrastructure in the energy sector.

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