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The FINANCIAL -- The Afghanistans Ministry of Finance on July 12 signed a financing package of $482.3 million in grants with the World Bank to help the country through a difficult phase in its struggle to end poverty.

It signals a long-term commitment by both parties to the countrys development and people.

The package will help Afghanistan support communities with refugees, expand private-sector opportunities for the poor, boost the development of five cities, expand electrification, improve food security, and build rural roads. The financing includes grants from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Banks fund for the poorest countries, as well as contributions from the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), managed by the World Bank on behalf of 34 donors, according to the World Bank.

This package of assistance is a reaffirmation of our joint commitment to address development and economic challenges faced by our people. Better service delivery, improved living conditions and more job opportunities will be created. Our people in both rural and urban areas will be the main beneficiaries of this assistance," said HE Eklil Hakimi, Finance Minister of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. All this assistance will be channeled through the national budget and will be spent with full transparency and effectiveness.

The new funding package aims to support efforts of the Government of Afghanistan to stimulate growth and ensure service delivery during a time of uncertainty when risks to the economy are significant. The international troop withdrawal, begun in 2011, coupled with political uncertainties, have resulted in a slowdown of economic growth, while government budget pressures are increasing as security threats mount and drive people from their homes.

Todays signing of the new financing reaffirms the World Bank Groups commitment to the Afghan people as they strive to overcome daunting development challenges compounded by a difficult security environment, said Shubham Chaudhuri, World Bank Country Director for Afghanistan. We are encouraged by the governments determination to build upon progress to date in several areas, including institutional reforms, revenue generation, and provision of basic services in health, education, and rural access sectors.

The $482.3 million financing package consists of seven grants:

$172 million in additional financing from IDA ($127.7 million) and the ARTF ($44.3 million) to the Citizens Charter Afghanistan Project to support communities with internally displaced persons and returnees from Pakistan;

$100 million from IDA to the Inclusive Growth Development Policy Grant to support reforms that expand access to economic opportunities for the vulnerable and promote private sector development;

$20 million from IDA to the Urban Development Support Project to strengthen urban policy-making in national agencies, and reinforce urban management and service delivery in five provincial capital cities;

$60 million from IDA to the Herat Electrification Project to provide access to electricity to households, institutions, and businesses in selected areas of Herat Province;

$20.3 million from IDA to the Afghanistan Strategic Grain Reserve Project to finance establishing strategic wheat reserves and improve the efficiency of grain storage management;

$105 million in additional financing from the ARTF to the Afghanistan Rural Access Project, which aims to benefit rural communities through access to all-season roads.

$5 million project preparation grant from the ARTF to support the establishment of a Womens Economic Empowerment National Priority Programme (WEE-NPP) Support Project, which aims to advance womens access to economic assets and opportunities.

Original post:
Government of Afghanistan Signs $482.3 million New Financing - The FINANCIAL

Country Brief

Afghanistan is a landlocked Least Developed Country (LDC) located in Southern Asia, North and West of Pakistan, East of Iran. Afghanistan's economy is recovering from decades of conflict and has seen a significant growth since 2001. Afghanistan has a narrow export base concentrated in few markets. Main export items are carpets & rugs and dried fruits. Main export partners include Pakistan, India and Iran. Petroleum, machinery and equipment, food items and base metals are main import items and main import partners are Pakistan, China, Japan, Russia and Iran. The country is undergoing the World Trade Organization (WTO) accession process.

Notes: Top 20 products listed in decreasing order of their export potential to the world. Development indicators are relative to the countrys current situation, green indicating performance above its trade-weighted median and red otherwise. A blank cell indicates that data are not available. A blank cell in export potential means that the product was not consistently demanded over five years by any country in the respective region. Exports (US$ thousand) correspond to average exports to the world over the period 2009-2013.

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Afghanistan - ITC

Blackwater founder Erik Prince testifies before Congress in 2007.

Getty Images

On Monday, the New York Times reported that the Trump administration has called upon two prominent figures in private military contracting to come up with alternatives to sending more troops to Afghanistan, as the Pentagon has planned to do. From the Times:

The move follows last months news that the Pentagon is planning to send as many as 4,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. The Times report notes that Prince wrote a May op-ed in the Wall Street Journal calling for private military contractors to take on the functions of American troops. That kind of strategy could be a windfall for companies like Feinbergs DynCorp, which the Times says has received $2.5 billion from the State Department for its work in Afghanistan already. The Times also says that Feinberg would like to see the CIA lead the American effort in Afghanistan with "paramilitary units" carrying out operations on the ground. "The strategy has been called 'the Laos option,' after Americas shadowy involvement in Laos during the war in neighboring Vietnam," the Times' Mark Landler, Eric Schmitt, and Michael R. Gordon write. "C.I.A. contractors trained Laotian soldiers to fight Communist insurgents and their North Vietnamese allies until 1975, leaving the country under Communist control and with a deadly legacy of unexploded bombs."

This is not the first mention of Feinberg and Princes role in Trumps circle. Early in the administration, it was reported that Feinberg had been asked by Trump to conduct a review of Americas intelligence community. And in April, it was reported that Prince had been involved in an effort by the United Arab Emirates to set up back-channel communications between the Russian government and Trump just before the inauguration. Prince is the brother of Trump's education secretary, Betsy DeVos. He is perhaps most famous, though, for a 2007 incident in which Blackwater contractors in Iraq killed 17 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad's Nisour Square while he was heading the company.

The rest is here:
Steve Bannon Wants Private Contractors to Set Strategy in Afghanistan - Slate Magazine (blog)

Afghanistans first-ever visit to Lords ended in a disappointment after rain forced an abandonment against a star-studded MCC side.

The day started in overcast conditions and saw the tourists dominate the early proceedings with Shapoor Zadran taking the prize wickets of Brendon McCullum (5) and Misbah ul-Haq (7).

However, opener Sam Hain and ex-West Indies batsman Shiv Chanderpaul passed 50 as a partnership to push the hosts past 100.

A rain delay restricted the match to 40 overs and after Chanderpaul retired not out on 22, Hain stepped up the momentum in reaching his 50 off 66 balls.

The Warwickshire batsman eventually dismissed for 76 after he was caught by Javed Ahmadi off the bowling of Gulbadin Naib.

Shapoor then claimed his third wicket of the match with Chris Read removed for just five as Afghanistan started to take control with MCC 180/4.

However, Nottinghamshire all-rounder Samit Patel continued where Hain left-off, reaching his half-century from 42 balls before departing for 53 when he was caught by Dawlat Zadran from a Rashid Khan delivery.

With MCC passing 200, Gulbadin dismissed Yasir Shah for 10, but an impressive unbeaten cameo of 15 by Ireland spinner George Dockrell ensured the star-studded side concluded their 40 overs on 217/6.

In response, Afghanistan lost an early wicket when Noor Ali was bowled by Durham seamer Chris Rushworth after 2.5 overs.

Javed Ahmadi started to lead the Tourists charge with two fours before rain intervened, leaving Afghanistan on 32/1 from five overs which sadly concluded on a colourful and historic day of cricket.

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MCC v Afghanistan - Match Report - Lord's

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN

The United States has stressed that a "fair and transparent" probe into allegations of rape and assault against Afghanistan's controversial first vice president and "possible follow-up legal actions" are key to upholding the rule of law and combating impunity in the country.

First Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum, an ethnic Uzbek warlord, and some of his militia guards have been under investigation for months over allegations of sexually assaulting an elderly political rival.

But in late May, Dostum, 63, flew to Turkey, saying he needed health care. He remains in Turkey, and his departure has prompted allegations he struck a secret deal with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to escape prosecution.

Hugo Llorens, the acting U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, said Tuesday in Kabul that the charges against Dostum were "extremely serious" and warranted close review by Afghan judicial authorities.

Former governor accuses

"Afghans have the right to demand that human rights be respected, the rule of law be upheld and those who violate the public trust are held accountable regardless of position or influence," Llorens said to a group of journalists.

Late last year, Ahmad Ishchi, a former provincial governor, said in a nationally televised interview that Dostum's militia forces had detained and sexually assaulted him. Ishchi said Dostum had ordered the detention and abuse.

The warlord rejected the accusations as politically motivated, and he refused to cooperate with investigators. But the incident outraged critics at home and abroad, putting Ghani under pressure to bring Dostum to justice.

The U.S. envoy said that like other Afghan citizens, the first vice president deserved due process and the presumption of innocence. He emphasized that the legal process underscored the Afghan state's efforts to uphold the rule of law, combat impunity and send a signal to the world that no one is above the law in Afghanistan.

"Any efforts to politicize the case or use it to sow ethnic tensions are harmful to the rule of law, peace and stability in Afghanistan. I believe the Afghan authorities must pursue justice and not succumb to any political pressures," Llorens said.

Three-party alliance

The American diplomat apparently was referring to a new alliance of three mainstream Afghan ethnic minority political parties. The political group comprises Jamiat-e-Islami, Hizb-e-Wahdat-e-Islami and Dostum's Junbish-e-Milli party.

The alliance was announced from Turkey this month, and it presented a list of demands for reforms by Ghani.

Some of Dostum's critics say he is behind the political move to pressure the beleaguered Afghan unity government to seek a favorable outcome from the investigation into the Ishchi allegations.

Leaders of the other two parties in the alliance also hold senior positions in the government.

Hours before the U.S. ambassador spoke, Ghani told reporters in Kabul that his government was "totally neutral" in the judicial proceedings involving Dostum.

He said the first vice president left the country with the permission of the Afghan attorney general because the laws do not bar someone suspected of wrongdoing from seeking medical treatment abroad "if he is ill, and he [Dostum] had a serious illness."

Originally posted here:
US: Fair Probe Into Afghanistan's Dostum Key to Upholding Rule of Law - Voice of America