KABUL - The Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Staffan de Mistura today concluded a one and half day visit in the province of Herat, in the west of Afghanistan. The United Nations top envoy in Afghanistan saw for himself an area of the country that has displayed great potential and made significant strides in development over recent years. The Special Representative delivered a message to all he met of sustained support from the international community and the United Nations for as long as Afghans wanted.

Special Representative de Mistura said he "looked forward to increasingly see the capacity and reach of the Government of Afghanistan meet the demands of its people- improving their daily lives and assuming ownership of their own future."

The Special Representative met with the Governor, Dr Noorsitani, the Provincial Council, the provincial reconstruction team and members of the diplomatic community. Special Representative de Mistura also met the Prosecutor-General, Maria Bashir. The Special Representative then visited the regional hospital and a regional prison and female correctional facility where he was encouraged by the manner of treatment of women and their children in facilitating their reinsertion into society

Finally, the Special Representative paid respect to the long Islamic tradition of Afghanistan by visiting some of the symbols of Islamic culture reconstructed with the support of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture - the Citadel and blue mosque in the centre of Herat city.

The Special Representative, Staffan de Mistura at a press conference said: "We are your guests, we will be by your side for as long as we are welcome, but the future lies in the hands of Afghans. There are difficult months ahead for Afghanistan, but the solution is real internal dialogue amongst Afghans. We will be with you through this process."