Addressing the closing ceremony of the third Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) in Kabul on Thursday, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah said the National Unity Government (NUG) is fully committed to organize credible and viable Parliamentary and Presidential elections by the end of its term.

 “We have learned the hard lessons of the past decade to understand that free and fair election is key to stability, rule of law and unity in country,” Abdullah said. “President Ghani and I are fully committed to organize credible and viable parliamentary and Presidential elections by the end of our mandate.”

Abdullah said that the government should convince the people that their votes matter and  “that the system will be geared towards more efficient, open and representative government.”

He said the government is also committed to delivering on all the commitments made over the past three years. 

“Let me assure you that the National Unity Government is committed to deliver, in the timeliest fashion possible, on all the commitments made over the last three years. These commitments are all geared towards making Afghanistan a better governed and more self-reliant country, which is the wish of every Afghan,” he said. 

He stated that government has put the reform agenda at the heart of its strategic planning.

“Over the last three years, despite a challenging environment, the NUG has put the reform agenda at the heart of its strategic planning. Fighting corruption, enhancing service delivery, improving governance and rule of law, empowering women and private sector are the priorities,” he said.

 In part of his speech the Chief Executive  praised the Afghan security and Defense forces in NUG’s efforts “towards ending the conflict imposed on our people.”

 The ANDSF, more professional and accountable than ever, is the backbone to our strategy to bring security to the country,” he said.  “Without an effective and responsible ANDSF we won’t be able to govern in an appropriate manner, or provide the service our people deserve.”

He considered the mission of Resolute Support “critical” in  ending the ongoing “imposed” conflict in the country.

“The training, advising, assisting, equipping and mentoring that will be provided based on conditions and not timelines are welcomed.  My appreciation to the United States, NATO and other contributing nations for their steadfast support,” he said.