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Written statement to Parliament AFGHANISTAN MONTHLY PROGRESS REPORT FOR OCTOBER 2013 * English * اردو The Foreign Secretary William Hague has updated Parliament on progress in Afghanistan
for October 2013. This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government I wish to inform the House that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office,
together with the Ministry of Defence and the Department for International Development, is today publishing the thirty-second progress report on developments in Afghanistan since November
2010. The Prime Minister hosted a trilateral meeting in Downing Street on 29th October with President Karzai of Afghanistan and Prime Minister Sharif of Pakistan. The three leaders discussed
Afghanistan-Pakistan economic cooperation and the Afghan-led peace process, to which they reaffirmed their continuing commitment. This was the fourth in a series of leader-level trilateral
meetings, and the first under the new Pakistani Government. During October a number of figures from across the Afghan Government and wider authorities resigned their positions in order to
stand in the 2014 elections. These included the Minister for Foreign Affairs Zalmai Rassoul, the Minister for Mines Wahidullah Shahrani, the Minister for Commerce Anwaral-Haq Ahadi, and
Minister for Energy and Water Ismail Khan. The UK-supported the Helmand National Investors Association (HNIA) capacity-building project which was completed in October. HNIA will help improve
the local business environment and increase the ability of firms to provide employment in the region. By assisting Afghan organisations like the HNIA, the UK has helped to ensure the
conditions for private sector development continue in Helmand after transition. The UK has committed to making Herat province free of mines and unexploded ordnance by 2018. Latest reporting
published in October shows that over the last six months, UKAid has cleared more than 258 hectares of minefield and 322 hectares of battlefield in Herat province. More than 7,000 families
have benefited from land returned to productive use this year. On 10 October2014, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2120 on the International Security
Assistance Force (ISAF), Afghanistan. The resolution extended the authorisation for ISAF under Chapter VII of the UN charter for a further 14.5 months, up to its departure on 31 December
2014. On 20 October, the Afghan National Army Officer Academy (ANAOA) opened for the first intake of cadets to start their training. There are around 270 cadets currently undertaking
training after 10,000 initially applied. On 15 October, Lance Corporal James Brynin of 14 Signal Regiment was killed after coming under enemy fire during an operation to reduce the indirect
fire threat in Nahri Sarraj. His death is a reminder of the continuing danger that our troops face as we draw down and focus our efforts on training and advising the Afghan security forces
and our enduring debt of gratitude to them. I am placing the report in the Library of the House. It will also be published on the gov.uk website. FURTHER INFORMATION Visit the UK in
Afghanistan website pages Read the previous Afghanistan progress reports Follow the Foreign Secretary on twitter @WilliamJHague Follow the Foreign Office on twitter @foreignoffice Follow the
Foreign Office on facebook and Google+ Media enquiries For journalists Email [email protected] UPDATES TO THIS PAGE Published 22 November 2013