China pledges $23.5m in aid to Afghanistan

KABUL and capacity building of the public sector, the Presidential Palace said on Tuesday.

In a meeting with President Hamid Karzai in Bonn, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said his country was also interested in developing the Ainak Copper project in Logar province and fuel extraction in the north.

Karzai invited the Chinese minister to pay an official visit to Kabul for talks on the subject. Finance ministry spokesman Aziz Shams welcomed China’s pledge, acknowledging Beijing’s aid in the past.

The Chinese government has provided more than $100 million in assistance to Afghanistan sectors, Shams told speaking to Pajhwok Afghan News.

President Karzai and the Chinese minister were in Bonn, where they participated in a day-long conference on Afghanistan’s future.

The gathering, attended by representatives from more than 115 countries and international organisations, was opened by President Hamid Karzai and German Chancellor Angela Merkel at 9am (German time).

frm/mud