News

On 15 October in Kabul, Lithuania’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Vygaudas Ušackas and Governor of the Ghor Province Sayed Mohammad Iqbal Munib presented the reconstruction activities in the Ghor Province to representatives of Afghanistan’s central authorities and international organisations, heads of development agencies, and foreign ambassadors residing in Kabul.

Minister V.Ušackas affirmed Lithuania’s determination to respect long term commitments concerning the assistance to the reconstruction of Afghanistan and the Ghor Province in particular. The Minister informed that Afghanistan (the Ghor Province) was a priority country for development cooperation programme of the Government of Lithuania. By 2010, Lithuania will have allotted 40 percent of its total development cooperation funds to this country.

According to the Minister, in 2006-2009 Lithuania allotted 11.6 million Litas for the reconstruction activities and, during the visit, Lithuania agreed to additionally allot 1 million Litas as an initial contribution for the construction of the Chaghcharan Child Care Centre (an orphanage).

“During four years of activities in Ghor, Lithuania has financed the construction of 19 schools and made it possible for over 2.7 thousand children to attend 40 communal schools, built 3 Micro-Hydro Power Stations, trained 44 veterinary experts, who vaccinated over 60 thousand animals, prepared feasibility studies and technical projects for the Chaghcharan airport and hospital’s reconstruction, organised expeditions of the Lithuanian scholars – 2 expeditions of archaeologists and 1 expedition of geologists, developed other projects,” Minister V.Ušackas said.

The Minister noted that in the future the support would be allotted to the priority spheres - infrastructure development, health care and education – identified in a 5 year province development plan that was prepared by the Ghor Province with Lithuania’s assistance. Ghor became the first province in Afghanistan, which prepared such a plan.

The Governor of the Ghor Province positively evaluated Lithuania’s leadership of the Provincial Reconstruction Team and assistance provided in accordance with the development cooperation programme. He also highlighted that if not for Lithuania, the Province would have been left aside from the activities of international development agencies.

The head of Lithuania’s diplomacy also discussed development plans of the Ghor Province during his meeting with Afghanistan’s Minister of Finance Omar Zakhilwal.

Minister V.Ušackas informed O.Zakhilwal about the efforts to attract international donors to the Province of Ghor. According to the Minister, Lithuania discusses this issue with Azerbaijan, the European Union, the U.S.A., Japan, Canada, Kazakhstan, Persian Gulf states and other countries. The Minister pointed out that Japan’s decision to allot support to this province and further Japan’s intentions to finance the reconstruction works in Ghor was an example to be followed.

The Minister also emphasized that in order to attract international donors to the Ghor Province, a respectively greater attention of the central authorities was also necessary.