The German Government has contributed EUR 10 million to the Afghan Government’s Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration Programme (APRP) for the year 2010. Afghan Finance Minister Omar Zakhiwal and Rüdiger König, the German Ambassador to Afghanistan, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the German contribution to the Afghanistan Peace and Reintegration Programme.

Germany will promote reintegration and reconciliation measures in Afghanistan for a period of five years through a total contribution of EUR 50 million. Germany provides its contribution to the Afghan Government programme through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

By funding this programme, Germany makes an important contribution to reconciliation among the people of Afghanistan.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle issued the following statement today (26 October) in Berlin:

At the Kabul Conference in July 2010, the international community endorsed the reintegration programme, which targets members of the anti-government forces who are ready to give up violence, offering them training and employment measures.