KABUL (SW) – The United Nations Development Program has created 560,000 temporary jobs in Afghanistan in the last six months, said Abdullah Al-Dardari, the representative of the mission in Afghanistan.
He said in an interview with Salam Watandar that this organization is carrying out effective projects to strengthen the economy and improve the condition of the people.
The official of the United Nations Development Program in Afghanistan announced the implementation of a large program worth $300 million with a regional approach to the urgent development initiative and said that this year it is going to implement a program worth $226 million across Afghanistan.
“We have created 560,000 temporary jobs in Afghanistan during the last six months. Therefore, the programs will expand and, God willing, will include all districts in the next three years.”
Meanwhile, the United Nations Development Program has launched a seminar in Kabul with the participation of representatives of institutions, business men and women, and civil society activists, and collected their views on improving the economic situation in 8 zones of the country.
The participants presented their views and suggestions to improve the economy and present the economic outlook of Afghanistan. Strengthening the agriculture sector, growth of industries, prosperity of trade and attention to natural resources and economic infrastructure in different provinces were among the most important topics that the participants of this meeting presented to improve the regional economy of Afghanistan.
In terms of strengthening the agriculture sector, the participants suggested raising awareness of farmers, increasing access to modified seeds, managing and distributing balanced water, paying more attention to the production of local products, and laying the groundwork for exporting products.
In addition to this, they noted that it is important to pay attention to the prosperity of industries, especially industries such as carpet weaving and handicrafts in which women contribute more, to strengthen industrial towns, to facilitate people’s access to raw materials and production tools, and to standardize factories for the growth of industries in order to promote the economy of the people.
In the same way, they wanted marketing for products, improvement of online business, support of small and medium businesses and making it easy for people to access payment services for the growth of business.
Masoud Sharifi, one of the participants, said Afghanistan is an agricultural country, that’s why one of the important issues that was discussed in this program was the development of agriculture.
Malika Sadat, another participant, said traders expressed the needs of the people of each zone to achieve the economic vision. “Women play a role in economic growth and the only thing that can bring women to self-sufficiency in society in this situation is their economic growth. For this, women should be involved in different sectors in the society and take part”.
In this seminar, the participants from 8 zones of the country expressed the use of natural resources and infrastructure in different provinces and the effective extraction of mines and reforestation for the economic improvement of all regions of Afghanistan.
In addition to this, the participants of this seminar called for capacity building in different sectors, support from the private sector, improvement of banking services and the involvement of women in various economic and social fields as important to achieve economic self-sufficiency.
ENDS
