UAE pledges $550mn aid to Afghanistan

The UAE has pledged $550 million for reconstruction and stability of Afghanistan up to October 2008, an official has said.

Assistant Undersecretary of UAE Foreign Ministry for Political Affairs, Dr Tariq Al Haidan, said the economic aid and humanitarian assistance, which covered infrastructure, health, education and defence, underlined the support lent by the government for reconstruction and development in Afghanistan.

He told delegates at the International Conference on Return and Reintegration of Afghan Refugees that UAE agencies had also financed a series of projects, including the Sheikh Zayed University in Kabul, the Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid City in Kandahar, an orphanage and a psychiatric hospital, news agency WAM reported.

More than five million Afghan refugees - 20 percent of Afghanistan's population - have returned home since 2002.

The large majority have gone back to their areas of origin, but some are unable to return to their villages due to insecurity, a lack of land, shelter, basic services or job opportunities.

These challenges have been compounded by a food crisis and severe drought, forcing thousands of desperate families to leave their homes for other districts.

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