The Federal Foreign Office is making 600,000 euro available for government capacity-building projects in Afghanistan, for functioning government institutions are crucial to the success of the country's civilian reconstruction effort.

An amount of 200,000 euro will go to a project of the Humboldt-Viadrina School of Governance targeted at Kunduz Province. Over the next fortnight a specially designed course will train Provincial Government officials and NGO representatives in conflict management and administrative transparency. The patron of the project starting today is Dr Peter Eigen, the founder and former chair of Transparency International.

A further 400,000 euro will go to a project of the Tribal Liaison Office (TLO), an NGO in the border region of Loya Paktia between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The aim of this project is to strengthen tribal institutions and integrate them into the country's new government and administrative structure. The main vehicle for this are the Jirgas (tribal councils). The purpose of these councils organized by the TLO is to ensure that community representatives and government officials consult with each other before any decisions are taken. The project is intended to help stop the threatened disintegration of local tribal structures and prevent a power vacuum developing that the Taliban and other militant groups could exploit for their own ends.

Over recent months the German Government has considerably expanded its support for the civilian reconstruction effort in Afghanistan. Following a further increase of 17.7 million euro in early July, total Federal Foreign Office support for reconstruction this year now stands at 108.4 million euro. From our humanitarian assistance budget we are also aiding Afghans in need. In 2009 the German Government has made available some 215 million euro for Afghanistan's civilian reconstruction effort.