The Embassy of Afghanistan Signs Grant
and Credit Agreements
Embassy of Afghanistan
08/04/2004
Washington, D.C. – H. E. Said Tayeb Jawad, Ambassador
of Afghanistan, signed four grant and credit agreements totaling
US$200 million with the World Bank today, August 4, 2004. The
funded projects aim at strengthening institutional capacity
building, urban development, and promoting investment and enhancing
the private sector in Afghanistan. Ambassador Jawad welcomed
the projects’ funding by the World Bank and noted, “These
major credits and grants—which consists of 50% of the
World Bank’s entire grants and credits to the needy countries—signify
the confidence of the international community in the Afghan
government and the future of our country.” Mr. Alastair
McKechnie, the World Bank Afghanistan Country Director, signed
the agreements with Ambassador Jawad.
The grant and credits are funding the following
four projects:
• The Education Quality Improvement Program:
Supported by a US$35 million grant, the program will provide
grants to schools for quality enhancement activities, including
the rehabilitation of the school buildings. The grant will fund
increased training opportunities for teachers, school principals
and educational administrators at district, province and central
levels. The grant will also be used to develop capacity at the
Ministry of Education for policy formulation, monitoring and
evaluation. Each activity will respond to the strong demands
from girls and boys. The program will be implemented by the
Ministry of Education which is consistent with Afghanistan’s
strategy of promoting an increased role and capacity for the
communities and schools with policy guidance from the government.
• Afghanistan Investment Guarantee Facility
(AIGF): Funded by a US$60 million credit, the Afghanistan Investment
Guarantee Facility (AIGF) will encourage foreign investment
in Afghanistan by providing political risk insurance of up to
US$60 million. The World Bank’s Multilateral Investment
Guarantee Agency (MIGA) will administer the facility.
• Programmatic Support for Institution Building
(PSIB): Funded by a US$80 million credit to Afghanistan’s
Ministry of Finance, PSIB aims at supporting the implementation
of the Government of Afghanistan’s medium-term development
strategy within the context of a secure environment and a satisfactory
macroeconomic framework. Initially formulated in the National
Development Framework (NDF) of April 2002, Afghanistan’s
development strategy was reaffirmed through the 2003/04 and
2004/05 National Development Budgets (NDB) and the document
Securing Afghanistan’s Future presented by the Transitional
Islamic State of Afghanistan to the international community
at the donors’ conference held in Berlin in March 2004.
The overall objective of the credit is to deepen, broaden and
sustain the reforms underway in the areas of public administration
and fiscal management.
• Kabul Urban Reconstruction Project
(KURP): Funded by a US$25 million credit, KURP aims at helping
the Afghan government improve urban management and the delivery
of urban services in the Kabul Municipality. This will be achieved
by supporting the integration of selected neighborhoods into
the urban fabric of the capital city through carrying out reconstruction
and rehabilitation of urban infrastructure and enhancing the
managerial capacity of the Ministry of Urban Development and
Housing and the Kabul Municipality.
Contact:
M. Ashraf Haidari
(202) 483-6410, (Ex-811)
Haidari@embassyofafghanistan.org
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