Germany has committed 59 million euros (5.1 billion Afghanis) in Afghanistan, focusing on good governance, sustainable economic development as well as urban development and municipal infrastructure.
The announcement was made as government consultations on cooperation between Afghanistan and Germany in 2019 ended on Tuesday.
An additional 100 million euros or 8.7 billion Afghanis shall be allocated to the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund, a German press release said. That will be subject to the implementation of jointly agreed reforms and concluding operation and maintenance guidelines for existing and planned infrastructure projects – to ensure their sustainability.
“Germany remains committed as a reliable long term partner for the development of Afghanistan and its people – as we always have in the past. Germany will continue to support development in Afghanistan with funding up to EUR 430 million a year until 2020,” said Henning Plate, head of the Afghanistan-Pakistan division of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Since 2001, Germany has invested about 4.06 billion euros in Afghanistan. In return investments, Gemrany expects the Afghan government to meet its commitments to carry out reforms in the areas of fight against corruption, preventing violence against women, promoting women’s rights and equal opportunities, as well as transparency in the mining and extractives sector.
“The Afghan Government aims to achieve higher economic growth, develop friendly relations with neighboring countries, increase our revenues, create employment, reduce poverty, and end violent conflict, as outlined in the Growth Strategy and Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework (ANPDF),” said Naheed Sarabi, Afghanistan’s deputy finance minister for policy. “Reaching these goals will enable us to achieve self-reliance as a nation.”
“To get there, we are planning and investing in priority projects and programs as defined in the National Priority Programs (NPPs) that are long term, sustainable and that connect Afghanistan to the region and beyond,” the official said.
“Germany has played a key role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan and our cooperation has contributed to substantial achievements in the implementation of our joint development agenda,” she added.
