KABUL, Mar 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Afghan President, Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, said, a one-billion-U.S. dollar reduction in economic aid to Afghanistan would not have an impact on the country’s key sectors.
“Governments always have plans for prudential circumstances. We also had some basic plans for unexpected situation,” Ghani said.
“I can assure you that the reduction in U.S. assistance will not have direct impact on our departments and sectors. We will try to fill the vacuum with the help of alternative resources.” he said.
On Feb 18, the Afghan election commission declared Ghani winner of the presidential election, nearly five months after the voting, but his rival Abdullah Abdullah disputed the result.
Both Ghani and Abdullah took oath as president of Afghanistan on Mar 9.
After talks with Afghan leaders, during a visit to Afghanistan, U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, said, the United States is reducing assistance by one billion U.S. dollars to Afghanistan this year, due to the Afghan leadership’s failure to form an inclusive government.
During the meetings in Kabul, Pompeo reportedly failed to make compromise between Ghani and Abdullah to form a unity government.
However, Ghani noted that the United States did not suspend its assistance to Afghanistan, but made providing the assistance conditional.
“We will continue our efforts to resolve the issue through negotiations,” Ghani said.
Following his meeting, Pompeo had a brief stay in Doha, Qatar, where he met with the Afghan Taliban’s political chief, Mullah Baradar.
The U.S. and Taliban inked a deal in the Gulf state of Qatar on Feb 29.
Under the agreement, the United States would reduce its forces in Afghanistan to 8,600, within 135 days, and all the U.S.-led coalition forces would return home within 14 months from Afghanistan, depending on Taliban’s meeting the conditions envisaged in the agreement, including severing ties with terrorist groups, such as the Daesh and al-Qaeda.
In his speech, Ghani also renewed his call on the Taliban, to agree to a ceasefire, as the country was facing challenges amid COVID-19 outbreak.
Some 42 COVID-19 cases and one death were reported in Afghanistan, since the middle of last month.– NNN-AGENCIES
