British government has pledged 130 million pounds in aid to Afghanistan during the visit of President Ashraf Ghani to the United Kingdom.
The pledge was made by UK Secretary of State for International Development, Rory Stewart, who met with President Ghani at the president’s residence in London.
They discussed enhancing UK’s cooperation with Afghanistan in the development sector and regional connectivity as Afghanistan is being transformed into an Asian roundabout, connecting South Asia with Central Asia to realize self-reliance, a statement from Afghan presidency said.
President Ghani also requested Secretary Stewart to help Afghan electoral institutions in monitoring and observing the upcoming presidential elections for ensuring transparency.
Besides agreeing to work with Afghanistan on its regional connectivity projects, Secretary Stewart pledged on behalf of the UK government to further its humanatarian aid in Afghanistan by £130 million.
UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Hon Jeremy Hunt, also met with President Ghani.
They discussed how the UK government could play a constructive role in the Afghan peace process in terms of unifying all the voices who want a political solution for the Afghan conflict, Afghan presidency said in a statement.
President Ghani also requested Secretary Hunt on behalf of the UK government to play a role in monitoring the upcoming elections for ensuring intergrity of the process.
Secretary Hunt said that as a long term partner of Afghanistan, the UK government will do anything it could for the peace process to succeed.
While pointing at the Afghan democratic institutions, especially electoral institutions, he said the UK government will continue to work with Afghanistan for fostering and strengthening democracy.
