KABUL - Japan gave US$ 281 million in aid today to the United Nations funds in Afghanistan. The announcement was made at a signing ceremony that took place at the Serena Hotel in Kabul. The funds will support 14 projects being carried out by nine UN funds, programmes and agencies.
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“We are at a critical juncture in Afghanistan’s future and it is the responsibility of the United Nations, our international partners and the Government to ensure that we grasp the opportunities afforded by the process of transition,” said Mark Bowden, the UN Resident Coordinator in Afghanistan. “With the support from our international partners and the particularly significant contributions from the Government of Japan we must focus on capacity building, empowering national institutions and ensuring needs-based sustainable development.”

The assistance provided today will support the national development priorities identified by the Government of Afghanistan and is a part of the commitment made by the Government of Japan last July at the Tokyo Conference.

The funds will support a wide variety of initiatives in the areas of agriculture, education, health, security, refugee reintegration, governance, and humanitarian assistance. The UN agencies and funds receiving grants are the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United Nations Mine Action Services (UNMAS) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). UNICEF and the FAO will implement their projects jointly with the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The government of Japan has been supporting Afghanistan’s peace and reconciliation since 2001 and is currently the second largest foreign donor to Afghanistan, after the United States.

“The assistance announced today is part of our commitment we made at the Tokyo Conference. In exchange, I expect the Afghan Government to implement their commitment, namely, to show improvement in anti-corruption and women’s empowerment and to conduct free and fair elections,” said Hiroshi Takahashi, the Ambassador of Japan. Mr. Takahashi also called on UN agencies and the Afghan Government to use the funds transparently and to demonstrate accountability so that the funds benefit the intended beneficiaries.

By UNAMA Kabul