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EU announces new financial support to Afghanistan

Xinhua, October 5, 2016 Adjust font size:

The European Union (EU) on Tuesday announced new financial assistance to Afghanistan on the sidelines of a two-day international conference here to aid the country.

According to a statement released by the European Commission, the EU pledged to provide up to 200 million euros (223 million U.S. dollars) in direct budget support over a two-year period from 2017 onwards.

EU's new aid for the war-torn country will be in the form of a state-building contract. Through this new mechanism, the EU will provide direct budget support to countries in fragile and transitional situations, the statement said.

EU said the new aid would assist the government of Afghanistan in defining its own strategic development priorities and policies so as to increase the country's self-reliance.

Meanwhile, the EU expected the new financial assistance would support more effective budgetary management and the fight against corruption in Afghanistan.

However, the EU said the aid would only be disbursed when specific reform targets were reached. Under the contract, a robust policy dialogue on reform progress in public policies, the macroeconomic framework, public financial management, as well as on transparency and oversight, will be put in place with the Afghan government and determine the payments.

"As the state-building contract is indeed a contract, both sides agree to play their part. We will provide the funding on the basis of satisfactory progress in key reform areas," Neven Mimica, EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, said at the signing ceremony.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan, co-hosted by the EU and Afghanistan kicked off, mainly focusing on the topics of international support for peace in Afghanistan, state-building and development, and Afghan reform efforts. Endit