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Afghanistan General Activity Update
December 29, 2005 - January 18, 2006 · Issue 108
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Photo (right-left): President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan HamedKarzai, former USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ronald Neumann, Economics Minister AminFarhang, and USAID/Afghanistan Deputy Mission Director Barry Primmmet on Nov. 17, 2005. At this month’s donor conference, USAID will continue to discuss its vital role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. |
Compact for Afghanistan USAID officials will join heads of state to discuss future aid to Afghanistan at an international donors’ conference to be held in London from January 31 to February 1. USAID will renew its commitment to capacity-building to support a stable, self-sufficient nation reflecting on accomplishments and challenges of the past few years. Our projects have improved health, education, democracy and governance, civil society, agriculture, infrastructure, and the economy. The new five-year “Compact” will be unveiled by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Afghan President Hamid Karzai as a follow-up to the historic December 2001 Bonn conference that established initial plans for the reconstruction of the country.
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| Detail from an Afghan carpet.
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Weaving Economic Ties – USAID Supports Commerce for Afghan Carpet Traders
On December 14-15th, two regional summits were held in Mazar-e-Sharif and Andkhoyin Faryab province. Over 60 members attended both summits and received training to understand market needs and how to enter new export markets through consortiums. Attendees learned about competition from Indian carpet producers and techniques to dye carpets. Members also had an opportunity to network and learn more about the Carpet Committee.
The event in Mazar-e-Sharif was covered by the media. Balkh TV interviewed USAID and the Governor of Balkh Province Atta Mohammad. Tolo TV, Radio Azadi, Radio Khilid, and Sada & Sima Iran’s radio station also provided coverage of the summit.
In a separate event, Afghan carpet traders recently attended a DomotexCarpet Fair in Germany this January. As part of a supplier consortium, these cluster members paid for their own transport, room and board, but received some financial assistance to transport their carpets and cover booth costs. For more information about the consortia and to view the carpets, visit http://www.afghancarpetconsortia.com.
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| Afghan men line up outside a voting center while waiting to participate in the historic 2005 National Assembly and Provincial Council elections. USAID supported democracy building activities leading up to the Parliamentary elections and continues to promote civic society. October 2005.
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Building Civil Society and Developing Skills of Parliamentarians
USAID in cooperation with other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are meeting to discuss capacity building of the country’s newly elected Parliamentarians.
In a meeting hosted by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES), NGOs such as United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the German Development Service (DED), the National Democratic Institute (NDI) along with USAID and its contractors planned ways to empower and train new members of Parliament. USAID is promoting democratic reforms and strengthening civil society organizations to promote national unity, reducing the propensity for inter-group conflict and extremism. We have supported the electoral process, the re-establishment and development of the rule of law. Our programs facilitate local government reform and assist with the establishment of a functioning legislative branch of government to build just institutions, solid legal frameworks, and effective governmental systems after years of unrest and Taliban rule.
SECURITY INCIDENTS
On January 15, 2006 a vehicle-born improvised explosive device attack on coalition forces took place in Kandahar.
Three Canadian military personnel sustained injuries and Glyn Berry, Canada's senior diplomat in southern Afghanistan and the political director of the Provincial Reconstruction Team, died.
Our condolences go out to the families and the Canadian public.
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The main purpose of the security incident graph is to provide a general update on security incidents as they relate to reconstruction in
Afghanistan. The graph is simply a mechanism for tracking security incidents and does not analyze incidents or
attempt to discern the motives or affiliation of the perpetrators. The focus of the graph is the frequency of incidents and their impact on
USAID’s work and also that of the development community writ large. The graph does not attempt to track all incidents regularly faced in Afghanistan.
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