U.S. Department of State
Bureau of South Asian Affairs
Washington, DC
June 15, 2004

Fact Sheet

New Initiatives for a Peaceful, Prosperous, and Democratic Afghanistan

Following their meeting at the White House today, U.S. President George W. Bush and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai issued a joint statement describing a partnership for the future between the United States and Afghanistan. Following are details of the key elements and new initiatives in that partnership.

Millions of Afghan citizens are building a better future for their country -- peaceful, democratic, and a more prosperous future. Less than three years ago, Afghanistan was home to terrorist training camps and a brutal regime. Today, Afghanistan is a liberated country with an internationally recognized government, functioning national institutions, a growing economy, and a public empowered with unprecedented rights and protections.

I. PROMOTING DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE

1. Parliamentarian Training Program

-- USAID will initiate a $5 million two-year parliamentary strengthening program to support the new Afghan legislature, which will have two chambers -- the Wolesi Jirga (directly elected lower house) and the Meshrano Jirga (indirectly elected upper house).

-- The parliamentary strengthening program will help Afghans develop the structure of the parliament, provide training and orientation for new members, develop standing rules and procedures, establish procedures for hiring and training legislative staff, provide civic education for the public, and develop relations with other bodies engaged in legislative drafting, including the Ministry of Justice.

-- The program's goal is to help the Afghan parliament become an effective and viable legislative body.

-- USAID's efforts, coordinated closely with those of other international donors, will complement ongoing efforts in related fields, such as rule of law, electoral strengthening, and good governance initiatives.

2. Support for Free and Fair Elections

-- USAID is providing nearly $70 million to support elections. This includes $27 million in contributions and in-kind assistance for the voter registration process; $24 million for elections themselves; and about $16 million for voter education, poll worker training, domestic monitoring and technical support to political parties, the Joint Election Management Board and other Afghan entities.

II. INVESTING IN PEOPLE

1. Cultural and Educational Exchange Programs

-- Fulbright Student Program: Twenty Afghan university students will begin a one-year, non-degree higher education program in the U.S. These students will focus on public policy, public administration, English teaching and other areas essential to rebuilding Afghanistan's institutions.

-- Teacher Exchange: At least 36 Afghan women English teachers and school administrators will undergo intensive professional development in modern teaching techniques at the University of Nebraska, Omaha.

-- International Visitors Program: Sixty-four Afghan civic leaders will visit the U.S. for three weeks to study issues such as "Administration of Justice," "Islam in America," "American Higher Education," "Local Government Administration," and "The Role of the Independent Media in a Democracy."

-- Hubert H. Humphrey Program: Nine mid-career Afghan professionals will commence one-year professional development programs at American universities this fall.

-- High School Exchange: Forty Afghan teenagers will live with American families and attend high school for one year on the Partnerships for Learning (P4L) "Youth Exchange and Study (YES)" program.

-- American Corners: Seven sites offering donated book collections, computers and on-line resources, worth $50,000 each, will open in libraries and universities across Afghanistan.

-- Citizen Exchanges Programs: Seven partnerships between American and Afghan non-governmental organizations, including:

-- Islamic Life in the United States: Leading American and South Asian scholars of Islam, including Afghans, will build stronger ties through examination of the role of Islam in their societies under the leadership of the University of Louisville.

-- Three-tiered Approach to Disability Awareness in Afghanistan: St. Louis University, collaborating with the University of Texas-El Paso, the Ministry of Public Health of Afghanistan, and two Afghanistan-based health care NGOs, will promote disability awareness in Afghanistan.

-- Afghanistan Women-led Small Business Development: American and Afghan businesswomen will partner in a project focused on Afghan handicrafts and production methods to assist them in designing and manufacturing products in Afghanistan that can be subsequently sold in the U.S.

-- Women's Educational Leadership for Afghanistan: Afghan educational administrators and community leaders will study different American approaches to education and literacy training.

-- Women's Political, Educational, and Economic Development for Afghanistan: Afghan women leaders will study modern leadership tools and create action plans for developing their institutions.

-- Afghanistan Educational Development and Literacy for Women and Girls: Female Afghan adult educators or managers of educational services will learn how to educate women and out-of-school girls and to manage the educational services provided by their organizations.

-- Women's Leadership Development Program Afghanistan: Afghan women will receive leadership training focused on political participation and expanding education, healthcare and employment opportunities.

2. Institution Building Initiatives

Women's Teacher Training Institute:

-- In 2000 UNESCO estimated that only 3 percent of Afghan girls were participating in primary education. With the defeat of the Taliban, that percentage has grown enormously; but historically, few village girls have attended school, and many villages have never had a school within walking distance. This lack of access has led to one of the lowest female literacy rates in the world.

-- The USAID-sponsored Women's Teacher Training Institute in Kabul will develop an innovative rapid teacher-training program to address the dire need for literacy teachers across Afghanistan. The Institute will provide accelerated literacy, numeracy and life skills programs that target remote rural communities where children, girls in particular, may not have access to school.

-- To accomplish this, the center will create a workshops training process that enables young people to become community-based teachers, work with the Ministry of Education to develop standards and certification for literacy trainers and teachers, include boys and young men in the program to encourage community acceptance and support, and engage and develop the capacity of women-led non-governmental organizations and groups whenever possible to provide literacy training and leadership in education.

-- Over the next two years, the program will train a cadre of provincial trainers and community-based literacy teachers and reach thousands of students. It will create a model and structure that can be replicated, expanded and sustained by local communities. This initiative is part of a $100 million USAID education program in Afghanistan.

III. STRENGTHENING ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY

1. Women's Private Sector Initiative:

-- Moving away from survival strategies to long-term, sustainable economic activities will be a difficult shift for the women of Afghanistan, given cultural norms and 23 years of war and upheaval. However, Afghanistan's entrepreneurial spirit remains alive and well and recent surveys have shown that business confidence is very high, with 97% of business owners expecting their businesses to grow larger in the coming year. The challenge now is to manage that growth and ensure that women's roles in economic growth are recognized and strengthened.

-- The goal of the Women's Private Sector Initiative is to increase the direct participation of Afghan women in economic activities and private sector markets. To accomplish this, USAID is dedicating $5 million to fund grants for small business start-ups and to provide training on business management, property rights under Islamic law and assistance in accessing sensitively delivered legal assistance in more transparent administrative and judicial processes.

-- The program will also serve as an umbrella of activities specifically targeting women, including health, education, income generation, and governance, linked with women's Community Development Councils and proposed community-owned centers that provide culturally appropriate spaces for women's activities. The Community Development Councils across the country are helping develop democracy at a grassroots level.

-- Over the two-year life of this project the initiative aims to provide Afghan women with sustainable jobs, basic business and management skills training, and a self-sustaining micro-finance facility.

-- The first women's private sector grant, currently in process, will be awarded to Arzu, a U.S. organization formed to promote the development and export of Afghan carpets. The Women's Private Sector Initiative is part of over $60 million in USAID programs focusing on Afghan women.

2. USG Intention to Pursue TIFA

-- The proposed Trade and Investment Framework Agreement will create a bilateral forum to deepen trade and investment relations between the United States and Afghanistan.

-- The TIFA is a flexible instrument that would incorporate some initial undertakings to improve economic ties and would establish a senior level Joint Council that would meet regularly.

-- The United States has negotiated TIFAs with a number of countries, including Pakistan and Central Asian Countries.

3. Afghanistan's Intention to Pursue WTO Observer Status

-- Afghanistan submitted a letter in 2003 initiating the process for WTO membership. An application for observer status at the WTO will be a good interim step toward accession.

-- WTO observer status provides access to WTO capacity building assistance and the opportunity to attend and learn from WTO meetings, including ministerial conferences.

4. Construction of Industrial Parks

-- USAID will begin work on the construction of three industrial parks to be located in Mazar-e-Sharif, Kandahar, and Kabul to promote foreign and domestic investment in Afghanistan. Over three dozen countries form part of an expansive coalition supporting security and reconstruction efforts.

IV. ENHANCING SECURITY

1. Long-term Security Arrangement

-- The U.S. seeks to strengthen its security partnership with Afghanistan by working jointly to further develop and strengthen key Afghan national security institutions over the long-term. This partnership will promote U.S. and Afghan interests in enhancing internal stability, regional security, and international cooperation in the war against terrorism.

-- The U.S. is fulfilling its commitment to help the Afghan National Army establish its Central Corps. On June 17, 2004, with the graduation of the 20th ANA battalion, the U.S. will have helped train and equip over 10,000 soldiers, completing the Central Corps.

-- President Karzai recently announced that the Afghan National Army (ANA) will begin establishing regional commands this summer.

-- The U.S. is committed to helping Afghanistan build these regional commands, including by training and equipping the forces needed and establishing logistics and support structures to sustain them. To that end, we will seek to increase capacity for ANA battalions.

-- Through the establishment of the Central Corps and the regional commands of the ANA, the capability of the Afghan central government to provide for the security of the Afghan people will be greatly enhanced.

-- The U.S. will also continue to build on our ongoing security assistance partnership with the Afghan government, including through further strengthening and reform of the Ministry of Defense and General Staff.

-- The U.S. reaffirms its full support to President Karzai's war on drugs in an effort to build a strong economy free of drug trafficking. We will continue to support the Afghan government's comprehensive fight against the drug trade, including assistance in eradication, interdiction, drug law enforcement, alternative development, and demand reduction.

V. ACKNOWLEDGING INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

1. Multilateral Support for Afghan Reconstruction

-- The international community's efforts in support of Afghanistan's reconstruction and rehabilitation remain a hallmark of the campaign to liberate the Afghan people, who were on the frontline of the global war on terror.

Education and Health

-- The governments of France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the U.S. are building and/or renovating schools. Over 360 schools have been completed, with 285 more to be completed by June. Germany, Italy, and the U.S. are all building clinics; over 270 have been completed, with 160 more scheduled to be completed by June.

Roads and Water

-- Japan and the U.S. are cooperating on the construction of the Kandahar-Herat road, and are building secondary and bypass roads. Italy is supporting the rehabilitation of the Kabul-Bamiyan road, and the EC is supporting the Kabul-Jalalabad road.

-- Germany and Japan have contributed to the rehabilitation of the municipal water system of Kabul; Germany has also helped rebuild the water supply system in Herat, and to road repair in Kabul and Kunduz; and Japan is helping to establish a public transportation system.

Private Sector

-- France, Italy, Japan, the U.S. and the EC are all supporting agriculture, with various projects, including for irrigation, seeds, and animal vaccinations. Canada, the U.K., and the U.S. are supporting the Micro Investment Facility for Afghanistan, which will provide funds for lending and capacity building. Japan is providing assistance for the First Microfinance Bank of Afghanistan.

-- Germany is helping the Afghan government create an investment-friendly environment, setting up the necessary legal framework to attract investment.

Several nations are providing technical assistance and advice on budget, customs, and taxation.

Security and Rule of Law

-- The U.S. and Germany are training police officers, with 18,000 trained so far. The U.K., France, and the U.S. are training and equipping the Afghan National Army, with nearly 10,000 soldiers trained.

-- Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and many other nations are all participating in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), and the U.S. commanding Operation Enduring Freedom.

-- G-7 members are also assisting with demining and Japan, with the U.N., is leading efforts on demobilization, disarmament, and reintegration (DDR).

-- Italy is supporting justice sector reform including technical assistance to the legislative department of the Afghan Ministry of Justice, rehabilitating courts, and training justice operators.

-- The U.K. leads the international coordination on counternarcotics with support from the U.S. on the implementation of a comprehensive counternarcotics strategy aimed at interdiction, eradication, and alternative livelihood programs.