Afghan plea for $27.5b aid as donors' talks open

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, April 01, 2004

Afghan plea for $27.5b aid as donors' talks open

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Wednesday called for more international aid to help Afghanistan gain a more secure future.

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German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Wednesday called for more international aid to help Afghanistan gain a more secure future.

Addressing the opening session of a two-day international donors' conference on Afghanistan, Schroeder said the positive development in Afghanistan has shown "what we can achieve if we bind our power."

"We want, together with Afghanistan, to build a partnership forfuture," said the chancellor, adding that the United Nations has taken a key role in Afghanistan and fulfilled its responsibility in a very prominent way.

The conference, which draws foreign ministers and senior officials from 56 countries as well as international organizations,will discuss political, security and economic reconstruction in war-torn Afghanistan.

During the session, Afghan President Hamid Karzai is expected to present his government's request for 27.5 billion US dollars in aid for the next seven years.

Schroeder said his government will provide 320 million euros (about 400 million dollars) for Afghanistan's reconstruction in thenext four years. Germany has contributed the same amount in the past two years.

Sadako Ogata, special representative of the Japanese government,said Japan is prepared to offer 400 million dollars over the next two years, bringing the total Japanese contribution to 1 billion dollars since September 2001.

Source: Xinhua

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