Press Release
Date of Release: 28 November 2006
President Karzai Returns to Kabul after His Visit to the Province of Faryab
Arg, Kabul – H.E. Hamid Karzai, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, returned to Kabul this evening after his visit to Faryab province, where he inaugurated the Andkhoe-Maimana-Balamurghab road and Faryab’s power station.
The President was accompanied by Ministers of Public Works, Water and Energy, Higher Education and Social Affairs and a number of MPs.
Addressing a gathering of Ulema and community elders, the President said “The ring roads which link Afghanistan’s provinces will be paved soon, electricity and drinking water will be provided to the people, and health clinics and schools will be built in all parts of Afghanistan.”
“The inauguration of different projects brings us closer to achieving our goals, but to be able to stand on our own feet will take more time.”
The President expressed hope that more projects will be inaugurated in the near future. The Faryab-Herat highway will be completed within two years. The highway will link a significant number of provinces and facilitate trade with Iran and Turkmenistan.
“The Almighty God has blessed the people of Afghanistan with unity and the international community is assisting our reconstruction efforts. The construction of these roads would have not been possible without our unity and the assistance of the international community.”
The President called education “important” and urged the people of Faryab province to educate their children and emphasized that Afghanistan will not become prosperous without education.
The President expressed hope that one day Afghanistan will be able to provide assistance to other countries, and it is only possible when our children get educated.
The President thanked the Republic of India and the Asian Development Bank for funding the Faryab power station project and the Qaissar-Balamurghab road. The President urged the people of Faryab to spare no effort in ensuring the security and dignity of the construction personnel who work on these projects.
Speaking about the security situation in some parts of the country, the President said “Afghanistan has not achieved full security so far, and our enemies are lying in ambush, waiting for opportunities to disrupt our development work and people’s lives.
“There are places in Afghanistan where children can not go to schools and we must do our utmost to ensure the security of these places.”
Speaking about the peace Jirgas of Afghanistan and Pakistan, the President said “We will try to ensure security in our country through negotiations and holding Jirgas.”
The President urged the people of Faryab to protect and maintain their roads, and to raise their problems through members of parliament so that necessary action could be taken to solve them.
Also addressing the gathering, Suhrab Ali Safari, Minister of Public Works, said “The 300-kilometer Ankhoi-Qaissar-Balamurghab road will be constructed by Chinese, Australian and Korean construction firms with US$ 135 million in funding from the Asian Development Bank. The project will be completed by the year 2008.”
For further information, please contact:
Khaleeq Ahmad, Deputy Spokesman on International Affairs
Tel.: + 93 799 909 429
Released by the Office of the Spokesman to the President
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
