News

On 3 November in Vilnius representatives of Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Seimas of Lithuania and Lithuanian Ministry of Defence held consultations on reconstruction of Afghanistan with the former Political Advisor of the Dutch Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Afghanistan Emiel De Bont.

During the consultations Coordinator of Lithuanian assistance and projects in Afghanistan  Ambassador Gintė Damušytė presented the activities of Lithuanian Mission in Afghanistan.

“Lithuania allocates its limited resources and support to the Ghor province of Afghanistan. At this moment special attention is paid to implementation of reconstruction and development projects in this province,” Mrs Damušytė said.

During the discussion at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs strategy and goals of the reconstruction of  Afghanistan, role of the leading states and other donors  in this process were considered.  Interaction with Afghan authorities, and cooperation between civilians and the military were also discussed.

The former Political Advisor of the Dutch PRT in Afghanistan Emiel De Bont marked that the principles of actions of Dutch and Lithuanian PRT are the same except that the Netherlands allocate more funds for the mission.

Mr De Bont emphasized that first of all attention should be paid to security and only then we can pass on to education and health care.

According to Mr De Bont, in Afghanistan it is important to talk to ordinary people, try to gain their trust – this is the key to success.

During the discussion priorities of Afghanistan reconstruction activities and implementation approaches were determined. The importance of public diplomacy was stressed; long-term development and quick impact projects were discussed.