Vietnam supports the convening of an early international conference to re-assess the assistance needs of Afghanistan in the post-election period, a Vietnamese diplomat said on September 29.

At the UN Security Council (UNSC)’s briefing on the situation in Afghanistan, Ambassador Le Luong Minh, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the UNSC, welcomed positive developments in Afghanistan over the past three months, especially the holding of its presidential and provincial council elections on August 20.

The Ambassador said, however, that these elections revealed a more comprehensive picture of the current situation in Afghanistan, which is prominently featured by major challenges such as insecurity, weak institutions, and infufficient human and finanical resources.

The diplomat said top priority should be given to the protection of civilians and the improvement of the living conditions of the Afghan people.

He called for international assistance to the country, saying, “at this critical stage in Afghanistan’s peace process, the long-term committment of international donors to Afghanistan is of still greater signficance.”

The support and assistance of the international community, including the UN and the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) should be geared to helping the Afghanistani Government assume all the responsibilites that belong to a sovereign state, he added./.