The second round of elections was held in July 2014 and Mr. Ghani gained 56% of votes. Mr. Abdullah and his supporters accused Mr. Ghani of committing fraud 8 in the second round and President Karzai was accused of manipulating the elections. 9 8 IEC, 9 Afghan elections: Audit of disputed run-off halted, BBC News, July 20,

2014 10 P O ST-2014 The withdrawal of NATO forces and recent elections make 2014 an important transition year for Afghanistan. For post-2014 period, Afghanistan faces two main challenges: namely, establishing strong regional cooperation schemes and sustaining the flow of international assistance. The international communitys message in the Tokyo Conference in 2012 was that they care about Afghanistan, particularly with development aid and financial support. In the three IPC-USAK-NATO talks, participants discussed achievements and failures during the preparation of the country for the post-2014 period. The establishment of state institutions, as well as the formation of the national army and policy consisting of 350,000 Afghanis stand out as major achievements.

As being one of the poorest countries in the world, holding presidential elections towards the consolidation of democracy in Afghanistan should be considered as a big success. A similar success has ensued in physical infrastructure, such as the establishment of the Afghan central bank, construction of numerous hospitals, paving of roads. Despite such investments, per capita income is still low compared to Bosnia and Iraq, and Afghanistan still needs economic support. Towards this end, the series third session on technology and investment underlined the need for the use of advanced technology (and especially wireless telecommunications) to circumvent Afghanistans difficult geography with a view to building a prosperous nation with solid physical infrastructure.

Developing human resources of Afghanistan is as another critical challenge. Raising the status of Afghan women stand as a key element in overcoming this challenge. Introducing Afghan women into social and economic life is critical towards this aim. During the Taliban rule, girls were not allowed outside of their houses. Recently, more than eight million Afghan students are enrolled in schools, and more than three million of these students are girls. In spite of the aforementioned achievements and the success of the recent elections, security and stability continue to be a problem. Afghanistan needs long term economic support, both for enduring stability and security in the country, and by implication, prevent regional destabilization. The implications of Afghanistans problems are not limited within the confines of the country; such negative implications will also spill over to the region. If the neighbors and the international