KABUL (SW): The Ministry of Finance (MoF) endorsed the Financing Strategy Agreement for the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF) for 2015-2017 that would fetch the government $ 2.8 billion in grant assistance during the three years.
From this assistance, $1.2 billion will be provided to support the government’ operating budget, $ 723 million for financing ongoing development projects and $ 918 million to finance new development projects, the MoF said in a statement.
The projects financed under the ARTF assistance relate to the governance, agriculture, rural development, social development and infrastructure sectors, it added. According to the MoF all this assistance will be spent through the national budget.
Speaking at the endorsement ceremony for the new ARTF strategy, Eklil Hakimi, the Finance Minister appreciated the support from the international community provided to Afghanistan through the ARTF. “Afghanistan will make sure to utilize the resources of the fund effectively”, he said.
He outlined that the government will come up with new priorities this year that will be financed through the ARTF.
According to the MoF, ARTF is a multi-donor trust fund established in 2002 that is administered by the World Bank. “As of today, nearly $ 8 billion are channeled through the Trust Fund for service delivery and reconstruction across Afghanistan”, the statement noted, adding 34 international donors provide contributions to the ARTF.
Since the establishment of the new government, this is the biggest multilateral support commitment to the development of Afghanistan.
ENDS
