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Officials and politicians in Afghanistan believe the country's political and security transitions in 2014 have set the stage for a secure and prosperous future for the war-wounded nation. But critics are skeptical about the optimism and believe a lot will depend on how the new Afghan leaders tackle the challenges in the wake of dwindling foreign financial resources.

An intensified Taliban insurgency coupled with daunting economic and political governance challenged Afghanistan in 2014.

The conflict-riven country succeeded in holding two rounds of presidential elections amid serious security threats, though the democratic process was marred by allegations of massive vote rigging.

Nationwide security responsibilities were also transferred from NATO to a relatively under-trained Afghan national security force. Janan Mosazai, Afghanistans ambassador to neighboring Pakistan, told VOA the two transitions have proved critics who made dire predictions wrong.

There was a unanimity of view and assessment that Afghanistan is going to collapse in 2014 when Afghanistan will suffer a security collapse, a political crisis and then also an economic meltdown. Well, thank God, we have successfully implemented two of those transitions, said Mosazai.

The election resulted in a so-called national unity government in Kabul which is headed by President Ashraf Ghani while the runner-up, Abdullah Abdullah, is the chief executive. Mosazai said the two leaders are determined to steer the country through the decade of transformation to ensure a successful economic transition.

Looking to 2015, I can say with confidence that Afghanistan will enter the decade of transformation with a renewed determination under the national unity government and based on a strong national consensus for peace, and for security and for economic development. We are hopeful that we will make progress on finding a solution to the unacceptable violence that is still continuing in the country, said Mosazai.

President Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah have repeatedly promised to work together to rid the country of violence, introduce democratic reforms and rid key institutions of deeply-rooted corruption. The new Afghan president reiterated his resolve at recent international conferences and appeared to be more than willing to work with his once bitter election rival.

The government of national unity is committed to fundamental reforms to owning our destiny to ensuring that we are in the lead regarding reforms processes, said Ghani.

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After Pivotal 2014, Afghanistan Faces New Challenges With Less Help