KABUL (Pajhwok): The Japanese government would provide $3.5 million to Afghanistan in aid for economic and social development under an agreement signed in Kabul on Sunday.

The grant was pledged under the ‘Extension of Non-Project Grant MoU’ signed by Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai and Japanese Ambassador to Kabul Mitsuji Sozuka at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul.

Karzai, who represented the Afghan government, thanked the Japanese government and people as the second largest financial donor to Afghanistan and counted Japan as a sincere and good friend of Afghanistan.

He said Japan had assisted Afghanistan with $6.4 billion during the past 15 years in areas of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration, reconstruction , building roads and buildings, strengthening agriculture and irrigation, education , health , repairing and preservation of historic heritage.

Karzai went on to say these non-project assistance, whose MoU was signed today, would be spent on economic and social growth and development in Afghanistan in the areas of agriculture and irrigation, education and health.

He recalled Japan had helped build capacity of 4,500 government officials and had granted 750 master’s and PhD scholarships to the Afghan students and currently 190 Afghan students were undergoing studies in Japanese universities.

Sozuka said his country had always helped Afghanistan reach self-reliance, a goal which could be achieved by establishing a human resource management (HRM) organization.

He said the proposed organization should have the ability to lead and manage the country in order to turn Afghanistan into a stable and prosperous country.

He said Japan, since 2001 till now, had helped Afghanistan in developing and improving its institutions and infrastructure.

Japan has been trying to remain a good ally of Afghanistan and continue its assistance for a bright and prosperous future of the Afghan people, he concluded.

sns/ma