The Secretary-General wishes to congratulate President Hamid Karzai on his inauguration today as the elected President of Afghanistan for a second term. He welcomes the commitment of President Karzai to serve all Afghans, to fight corruption and to bring increased good governance, security and services to the country, as expressed in the President's inaugural speech. In pursuance of realizing these goals concretely, the United Nations looks forward to working with President Karzai and his government, the people of Afghanistan, and Afghanistan's international partners.

The Secretary-General sends his best wishes to the President and to the people of Afghanistan at this critical juncture in their history and reaffirms the determination of the United Nations to support Afghanistan's progress towards peace, stability and development.