The key demand for me from the public across the 34 provinces is to transform the state into an instrument of the rule of law, transform the economy into a productive system and change the education system.

I don't want anything for myself. I want everything for Afghan. I worked pro bono for 13 years. I didn't hesitate for one moment after 9/11 to resign from my position of comfort at the World Bank in New York and to come and serve.

The job of an elected president is to overcome the past and change the playing field.

Crisis for others is a source of despair. For me, it's an opportunity to bring reform. I owe this country a debt I cannot repay.

We are organized by territories, whereas terrorists are organized into networks. States are very slow and terrorists are extremely fast. Intelligence sharing needs to expand beyond the regional and become global and not country-focused. We need to acquire speed and agility.

Our current administration is a patchwork - some from the French, some from the Swiss, the Turks, the Ottomans; then the Russians came; now we have a global presence. We need to create a system that is organic and can function for the whole state. Currently, foreign policy here is domestic policy.

The youth are hurt. Our majority are youth, under 30. They have no hope. They don't get jobs.