EU pledges $1.5bn humanitarian aid to Afghanistan

KABUL (Pajhwok): The European Union has pledged a one-billion-euro ($1.15bn) aid package for Afghanistan, “to avert a major humanitarian and socioeconomic collapse”, according to a media report on Tuesday.

The money adds 250 million euros ($288m) to a 300-million-euro ($346m) sum the EU previously announced for urgent humanitarian needs, with the remainder going to Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries taking in Afghans fleeing Taliban rule, a statement said on Tuesday.

EU Chief Von der Leyen made the pledge at a virtual G20 summit hosted by Italy dedicated to discussing the humanitarian and security situation in Afghanistan.

After a previous G7 meeting on Afghanistan following the August takeover by the Taliban, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi had been pushing for a broader discussion involving other world powers.

The G20 includes the United States, EU, China, Turkey, Russia, India and Saudi Arabia, among others.

Von der Leyen’s statement stressed that the EU funds are “direct support” for Afghans and would be channelled to international organisations working on the ground, not to the Taliban’s interim government, which Brussels does not recognise.