International donors met in Tokyo on Sunday and pledged $16 billion through 2015 for the economic development of Afghanistan, under the condition that the Afghan government reduce corruption and pledge economic and political overhauls. 

The agreement is called the Tokyo Framework of Mutual Accountability and states that foreign governments will assure Afghanistan a steady stream of financing in exchange for stronger anticorruption measures, The New York Times reported. The biggest donors were the United States, Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom. 

The agreement includes benchmarks, The Wall Street Journal reported, measuring progress in five areas that include free and fair elections, human rights (particularly women’s rights), and the fight against corruption and drug trafficking.

Up to 20 percent of the money would rely on the government meeting governance standards. 

Representatives of more than 70 countries attended the conference. 

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the lives of Afghan civilians needed to improve after a decade of war and a number of steps are required to reach that goal. 

“That must include fighting corruption, improving governance, strengthening the rule of law, increasing access to economic opportunity for all Afghans, especially for women,” she said. 

Afghan President Hamid Karzai pledged to “fight corruption with strong resolve.”

The president said that despite the progress Afghanistan has made during the last decade, its economy and security were major concerns, the BBC reported.

"It will take many years of hard work on our part as Afghans, as well as continued empowering support from our international partners before Afghanistan can achieve prosperity and self-reliance,” Karzai said. 

"We must do what we can to deepen the roots of security and make the transition irreversible."

The New York Times reported that funding for the Afghan Army and police forces is separate from the money raised in Tokyo. Funding for the Afghan security forces after 2014 is estimated at $4.1 billion per year.

The BBC reported that donors will meet again in 2014 for a follow-up conference.

 

Reach Executive Producer Agnus Dei Farrant here.