The Bonn conference attendees are hoping to agree on a set of mutual binding commitments under which Afghanistan would promise reforms and work toward goals such as good governance.
The United States and other nations on Monday vowed to keep supporting Afghanistan's fragile economy after most foreign forces leave the country, as an international conference got underway in Bonn despite the crippling absence of key regional player Pakistan.
The Bonn conference is focused on the transfer of security responsibilities from international forces to Afghan security forces during the next three years, long-term prospects for international aid and a possible political settlement with the Taliban.
"Together we have spent blood and treasure in fighting terrorism," Afghan President Hamid Karzai said in his opening remarks, urging the international community to stand by the country even beyond the planned troop withdrawal in 2014.
"Your continued solidarity, your commitment and support will be crucial so that we can consolidate our gains and continue to address the challenges that remain. We will need your steadfast support for at least another decade," Karzai said.
About 100 countries and international organisations are represented among the 1,000 conference delegates, with some 60 foreign ministers in attendance, among them US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
"This is the beginning of our hard work," Clinton told a sideline meeting with Afghan activists, women leaders and others. "We have to be very clear about what we can and cannot do together." The lack of progress toward a political settlement with the Taliban is a major disappointment for the United States, which sees a deal as the key to ending the war.
But the prospect of some accommodation with the hardline movement that once forbade Afghan girls to go to school is a bitter pill for many of the leaders Clinton addressed today.
"Reconciliation holds promise, but it cannot be at the cost of the gains you have suffered for," Clinton said.
The Bonn conference attendees are hoping to agree on a set of mutual binding commitments under which Afghanistan would promise reforms and work toward goals such as good governance, with donors and international organisations pledging long-term assistance in return to ensure the country's viability beyond 2014.
"The road ahead will remain stony and difficult. It will require endurance and tenacity," German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said. "A stable and peaceful Afghanistan which does not pose a threat to the world is in the interest of all of us."
Afghanistan will present a sobering view of its economic dependence on foreign aid and spending related to the huge military presence and seek assurance that donor nations will help fill the gap after most forces leave by 2015.
Although donor nations will not commit to specific figures at the one-day session on Monday, they will sign up to the principle that economic and other advances in Afghanistan since the ouster of the Taliban government in 2001 should be safeguarded with continued funding.
Afghanistan estimates it will need outside contributions of roughly $10 billion, or slightly less than half the country's annual gross national product, in 2015.
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