Germany to Provide €240M to Afghanistan

Further funding is being provided by the German federal ministry directly to non-governmental organizations, the statement said. 
“Improving the lives of Afghan men and women, boys and girls is our joint goal. Together, we are seeking to create jobs, fight hunger and poverty, strengthen Afghan institutions, and build and maintain infrastructure.’ Cooperation between the two countries will focus on peaceful and inclusive societies, training and sustainable growth for decent jobs, and responsibility for our planet in terms of climate and energy.” Said Martin Jaeger, State Secretary of BMZ.  
The assistance is an addition to the German federal foreign office’s EUR180 million for stabilization projects and EUR19.4 million for humanitarian assistance in 2020.  
“Part of that was based on conditions and that means that we asked the Afghan government to continue their fight against corruption to strengthening human rights, to strengthening the situation of women and girls.” said Henning Plate, Head of South and Central Asian Division at BMZ German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development.  
With this new assistance,  Germany thus fulfilled its pledge at the 2016 Brussels Conference, where it committed to provide up to EUR 430 million per year in overall civilian assistance to Afghanistan, said the statement. 
The Afghan government is preparing for the next Geneva Conference to attract new commitments from Germany and other donors for the continuation of assistance after 2020.  
“We will go full-handed to the conference and convince the participants to provide assistance to Afghanistan in our current situation, where conflicts and other challenges such as the coronavirus have affected the country in a major way," said Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal, Acting Finance Minister.  
Germany is the second biggest donor for development and reconstruction in Afghanistan.