New Afghan envoy

Unlike his predecessor, Michael Steiner, who was known for getting loud if necessary, Koch is a man of quiet words. Born in Kansas City, he inherited his diplomatic aplomb from his father, a German diplomat who was posted there. Koch began his own diplomatic career in 1986.

Prior to his new job as special envoy to Afghanistan, Koch was the German ambassador to Pakistan, and before that, head of the political affairs department at the German embassy in New Delhi. He is considered to be a very knowledgeable expert on the entire region.

"I am sure that Michael Koch is a good choice for this post," said Johannes Pflug, the Afghanistan expert of Germany's Social Democratic Party (SPD) and a member of the foreign affairs committee of the German parliament. "He was not only ambassador in Pakistan, but also headed the planning committee for Afghanistan in the foreign ministry from 2004 to 2008," said Pflug.

Experienced diplomat

Afghanistan and Pakistan are not the first difficult postings in Asia for the German diplomat. In the 1990s, Koch was the charge d'affairs in Myanmar (Burma) in one of the most isolated countries on the Asian continent. Wherever he served Koch was noticed for his special abilities.

"He is what one generally refers to as a 'file cruncher'; a person who not only constantly reads reports, books and magazines, but also remembers what he has read," notes Pflug enthusiastically.

In his new job, Koch may find himself occasionally reminding others to keep their promises to provide aid to Afghanistan after the international community withdraws its troops in 2014. His predecessor, Michael Steiner, made sure that the long-term aid was agreed on at the Afghanistan conference in Bonn in December 2011.

Complicated conditions

Koch takes over from Steiner at a difficult time. Taliban insurgents are feeling stronger in the wake of repeated speculation that ISAF forces will withdraw early and know that time is on their side. Many miles away in the United States, the presidential election campaign is in full swing, which many observers believe will have a direct impact on the outcome of negotiations in Afghanistan.

"The first difficulty Michael Koch will be confronted with is the presidential election in the US. Many hardliners among [President Obama's] Democrats do not want any negotiations with the Taliban at the moment," says Pflug.

Among German foreign policy experts, however, the consensus is that there can be no military, and only a civil, solution in Afghanistan. In Pflug's view, there is no alternative to talks with the Taliban.

the Pakistani journalist and Taliban expert, Ahmed Rashid, agrees with that assessment. He says Koch's task in the coming months will be to get the stumbling blocks out of the way in these talks.

"In the months ahead, there are going to be a lot of complications; a lot of problems, and it may be that the Taliban or the Americans enlist the help of Germany to break some deadlock, or hold up in the talks," says Rashid.

Appreciation for Germany's mediator role

Koch's predecessor last year made a considerable contribution toward getting talks with the Taliban going in the first place. Germany earned a great deal of trust among the participants at the talks in the Arab emirate of Qatar, says Rashid, because "Germany was not pursing its own political agenda at the negotiations." The Karzai government, the Taliban and even Pakistan trust Germany because of this, he notes, refering to Afghan President Hamid Karzai. "However, Germany must be careful not to be sidelined by the United States," says Rashid.

Michael Koch has good connections in the US from his time in the 1990s as the chief-of staff for Werner Weidenfeld, the coordinator of German-American relations in the German foreign ministry at the time.

Most experts think that a lasting political solution in Afghanistan must be supported by the key powers in the region and that means India, Pakistan and Iran. But unlike Germany, Washington currently has no diplomatic ties with Tehran. "Koch could help establish channels of communication," says Rashid. US relations with Pakistan are also at a low point following last year's raid to kill Osama bin Laden. Koch's tenure as German ambassador to Pakistan could also help build bridges here.

In any case, Koch's negotiating skills will be needed sooner or later. "Germany is still going to be very deeply involved in the peace process. A lot of messaging, which is going on between the Taliban and Karzai, has been through the Germans. So, I think Ambassador Koch will still play an important role in that," Rashid concludes.

Author: Daniel Scheschkewitz /gb
Editor: Shamil Shams