Dispatch of the Preparatory Mission for Supporting Afghanistan

February 27, 2002

The Government of Japan will dispatch a preparatory mission for supporting Afghanistan from March 1 to 15. The mission will be sent as a follow-up to the International Conference on Reconstruction Assistance to Afghanistan held in January in Tokyo.
The mission will mainly consist of officials of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
The main tasks of the mission will be as follows:
(1) Research on short-term, mid-to-long-term needs to serve as a basis of Japan's supporting plan for reconstruction, which is centered on assistance for education, health and medical care, media infrastructure (TV stations, etc.), women, and re-settlement of refugees,
(2) Screening of objectives for urgent rehabilitation work in areas such as education, health and medical care, and TV stations, which need to be restored temporarily at an early stage, and
(3) Other preparations paving the way for Japan's future support activities, such as confirming implementation procedures and setting up an operational base in Kabul.
Taking the results of the mission into consideration, the Government of Japan intends to implement early visible supporting activities, starting from urgent rehabilitation work.

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