Japanese liaison officer to the NATO Senior Civilian Representative in Kabul, Afghanistan

December 13, 2007

On 13 December, 2007, the Government of Japan appointed an official of the Embassy of Japan in Afghanistan (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) as a Japanese liaison officer to the Office of the NATO Senior Civilian Representative (NATO SCR) in Kabul, Afghanistan, in order to promote close contacts between Japan and NATO for the sake of effective implementation of the Japanese Grant Assistance for Grass-Roots Human Security projects (GAGP), which are carried out through close cooperation with the NATO Provincial Reconstruction Teams (NATO PRTs).
In response to an announcement by the then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Japan and NATO have concurred that the Government of Japan implements the GAGP on the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan, with close cooperation with the NATO PRTs, at the total monetary amount of two billion yen* during the course of the next several years. The GAGP provide support for the projects of NGOs and the local government administrations in the areas of primary education, vocational training, health and medical care, water and sanitation. So far, 13 projects (see Annex) have been launched. The Japanese liaison officer will be expected to facilitate the promotion of effective and smooth implementation of such GAGP projects.
(*: principally, monetary amount per project is under 10 million yen.)

The Japanese liaison officer will work closely with the NATO SCR, and as necessary, provide support to the NATO SCR for coordination and evaluation of GAGP proposals which are submitted, through the NATO SCR, from the NATO PRTs to the Government of Japan.

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