Emergency Grant Aid to Afghanistan for Project for Improvement of the Equipment for Mazar-e-Sharif Police

March 13, 2005

On March 11 (Fri), the Government of Japan decided to extend an emergency grant aid of about 111 million yen to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan for its Project for Improvement of the Equipment for Mazar-e-Sharif Police.
Mazar-e-Sharif, the most important city in the northern part of Afghanistan and the biggest base of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance after the fall of the capital of Kabul in 1996 to the Taliban, is one of the most important regions in Japan's assistance to Afghanistan, together with Kabul and Kandahar in the southern part of the country.
Together with this assistance, securing public order is a very important factor, from the viewpoint of promoting the tripartite assistance to Afghanistan of security, political process and rehabilitation aimed at the consolidation of peace. The Balkh Province, therefore, has requested this assistance for its police department through the Ministry of Interior of Afghanistan.
Contributing to Afghanistan's consolidation of peace by assisting its political process, security and reconstruction, Japan recognizes that it is important to gain the support of the people, who uphold the peace process, by expanding regional assistance. Japan has decided to extend this emergency assistance, taking account of the important fact that it will enable Mazar-e-Sharif Police to have means of transportation and communication for expanding its capability and scope of activities, contribute to stabilizing security situation in Mazar-e-Sharif, and guarantee the security of aid workers of Japan and other donors.

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