Afghanistan: Development Strategy Post-2014

Lord Campbell-Savours Excerpts

Thursday 20th November 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth]

My noble friend is absolutely right to raise that key issue, which relates to education, antenatal care and health services for women. Substantial progress has been made. Currently, 6.7 million people are receiving education in Afghanistan, of whom 3 million are girls. Much still needs to be done but that is significant progress over the past decade.

[Lord Campbell-Savours (Lab)]

My Lords, is not one measure of our success, or lack of it, regarding the future strategy in Afghanistan the price of heroin on the streets of London?

[Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth]

The noble Lord raises a key point regarding the future development of Afghanistan and the seemingly intractable problem of dealing with the drugs trade. This demands a long-term solution not just in Afghanistan but on the streets of London and elsewhere in the West. Often noble Lords and others may think that Afghanistan is not a country rich in natural resources but it is worth noting that there are other sources of income. There are $2 trillion worth of minerals in Afghanistan. The challenge is to ensure that we develop that and ensure that the people of Afghanistan are the beneficiaries of it.