The Czech Republic will provide financial aid of 40 million crowns to support local security forces and agriculture development in Afghanistan, the cabinet decided at its meeting.
The money is to be taken from the reserves of the Foreign Ministry budget.
The decision on the aid arises from the government resolution passed in 2016 saying that the country is to annually give 40 million crowns to Afghanistan. The government has to approve the payment of the money each consecutive year.
The aid will be divided into two parts. Half of it, 20 million crowns, will be spent on the Afghan Reconstruction Trust Fund. Supervised by the World Bank, it sponsors the projects with a view to increasing the self-sufficiency of the Afghan population and reducing its motivation for migration. The Czech money will help finance projects focusing on agriculture, rural development and education.
The Czech Republic will spend the other half of the sum on projects enhancing the quality of Afghan security forces: 15 million will be sent to the Trust Fund for the Afghan National Army, administered by NATO, and the remaining five million to the Trust Fund for Law and Order, administered by the United Nations Development Fund.
