European Union pay attention to Ghowr

Last week European Commission and European Parliament members visited Ghowr province of Afghanistan where Lithuanian military and civilians are in charge of peacekeeping.

Head of the EU Commission Delegation to Kabul Ambassador Hansjoerg Kretschmer was visiting Ghowr on July 30 – August 2. Representative of one of the biggest Afghanistan’s donors was interested in security and economic situation in Ghowr, agenda of local administration, and projects of development cooperation under coordination of the Lithuanian Special Mission.

 

In Chaghcharan H. Kretschmer met with Lithuanian delegation. Europarliamentarian Laima Liucija Andrikiene who was visiting Ghowr in composition of the delegation is in charge of writing a report on employment of European Union funding in Afghanistan.

Together with Laima Liucija Andrikiene and members of the Special Mission Ambassador H. Kretschmer visited United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan HQ in Chaghcharan. Representatives of the EU met with leadership of NGO Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (CHA) in charge of healthcare services project. CHA established 21 centres of primary healthcare and nine healthcare subdivisions under financing of European Commission. The EU Commission also covers expenses of medical personnel maintenance and purchasing of medical equipment and medicine in the centres.

Together with Lithuanian diplomats Ambassador H. Kretschmer made a trip to the Ghalmin Valley 40 km north from Chaghcharan where projects financed by Lithuania and European Commission are underway. Small hydroelectric power plant built on Lithuanian funding started working in Galley Shiya village this spring, and there is a centre of primary healthcare financed by the EU Commission almost finished at Sar-e Ghalmin village.

Lithuania was the first to apply for the EU Commission Fund for projects of provincial reconstruction teams. One fifth of expenses of two projects approved is financed by Lithuania. As implementation of projects worth one million dollars, courses for prosecutors and judges were launched in Chaghcharan, and constructions of provincial Prosecutor’s Office and renovation of Appeal Court building will soon follow.

The EU Commission has allocated over six hundred million Euros for projects that should be implemented in Afghanistan during the following four years.

Information and Public Relations Department of Ministry of Foreign Affairs