GENEVA: Britain said it will pledge $227 million in annual civilian and food aid for Afghanistan at a conference on Tuesday in Geneva where officials from about 70 countries and humanitarian organizations will pledge billions of dollars for the war-torn nation.
Dependent on foreign aid, Afghanistan is at risk of receiving between 15 percent and 20 percent less funding than it received at the previous donor conference four years ago, diplomats say, as governments are under intense pressure to make savings as they ramp up spending to help their own economies recover from impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Withholding funds at this point, diplomats say, could at least provide foreign governments with some leverage to inject a greater sense of urgency into peace talks between the Afghan government and Taliban representatives that began in Qatar in September.
Britain, a country with a long and difficult history of involvement in Afghanistan, is the country’s third largest bilateral donor, and the amount being pledged in Geneva will be slightly higher than it pledged at the last donor conference in Brussels four years ago.
The statement issued by the UK Mission to the United Nations and World Trade Organization in Geneva said $207 million would be pledged to support peace and stability in Afghanistan and “improve access to education and vital infrastructure.”
Britain would “also announce an extra $20 million to the United Nations’ World Food Programme” for Afghanistan.
The latest monetary commitment is separate from the $93.32 million security pledge for Afghan forces for 2021, which Britain announced last month.
In Brussels in 2016, Britain had pledged a total of $1 billion for four years, which translated into 187.5 million pounds annually.
At the Brussels conference, Afghanistan obtained total pledges of $15.2 billion for 2017 to 2020, equivalent to $3.8 billion a year.
Britain pledges $227 million annual civilian and food aid to Afghanistan
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Britain pledges $227 million annual civilian and food aid to Afghanistan
- Afghanistan is at risk of receiving between 15 percent and 20 percent less funding than it received at the previous donor conference four years ago
Australia to deploy long-range reconnaissance plane to Gulf
- The government says there are about 115,000 Australian nationals across the Middle East, of whom about 2,600 have returned home.
SYDNEY: Australia will deploy a long-range military reconnaissance plane to the Gulf to protect civilians, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Tuesday.
An E-7A Wedgetail aircraft and supporting defense force personnel will be sent for an initial period of four weeks to help “protect and secure the airspace above the Gulf,” Albanese told a news conference.
Australia also plans to provide advanced, medium-range air-to-air missiles to the United Arab Emirates “in response to a request,” the prime minister said.
The UAE, in which there are an estimated 24,000 Australians, has shot down more than 1,500 rockets and drones fired by Iran in reprisal following US-Israeli strikes, he said.
Albanese said he decided to send the advanced radar surveillance plane to the Gulf following a discussion with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
“The first priority of my government is, and always will be, to keep Australians safe,” the prime minister said.
“Helping Australians means also helping the UAE and other Gulf nations to defend themselves against what are unprovoked attacks,” he added.
“My government has been clear that we’re not taking offensive action against Iran, and we’ve been clear that we are not deploying Australian troops on the ground in Iran.”
The government says there are about 115,000 Australian nationals across the Middle East, of whom about 2,600 have returned home.
“Significant challenges remain, and further work is underway to support those still seeking to leave,” Albanese said.
Australia said last week it had deployed a heavy transport plane and a fuel transport plane to the Middle East as part of plans to get its citizens out of the region.
Canberra has been careful to make clear that its forces are not engaging in offensive operations against Iran.
On Friday, Albanese revealed that Australian military personnel were aboard an American submarine that sank an Iranian navy ship off Sri Lanka.
The personnel were on the submarine as part of training arrangements under AUKUS, a multi-decade defense pact with Britain and the United States, he said, stressing that they did not take part in the attack.
