ID :
49534
Sun, 03/08/2009 - 20:43
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https://oananews.org//node/49534
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Japan to fund salaries of Afghan police until leader election in Aug
.+
WASHINGTON, March 7 Kyodo -
Japan will put up about 14.1 billion yen in official development assistance to
pay the salaries of all 82,000 police officers in Afghanistan as part of its
effort to help rebuild the war-torn country, sources close to Japan-U.S.
relations said Saturday.
Japan will pay the officers' salaries for about six months until the completion
of a presidential election slated for August, the sources said. It is
unconventional for Japan's official development assistance to fund the salaries
of a recipient country's public service personnel.
According to the sources, Japan is ready to provide about 5 billion yen for
cooperation in holding the election, 15.4 billion yen for anti-terror and
security measures, and 9.7 billion yen for fighting poverty.
The assistance for the police officers' salaries is included in the anti-terror
and security portion of the aid program, and will be extended to a United
Nations Development Programme special fund. Afghanistan is not obliged to repay
the assistance money.
Tokyo is expected to notify the United States when Japan International
Cooperation Agency President Sadako Ogata and Motohide Yoshikawa, Japan's
special envoy in charge of aid for Afghanistan and Pakistan, meet with U.S.
special envoy Richard Holbrooke in Washington on Monday.
Japan has stepped up its work on an aid program since U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton requested Tokyo's participation in Washington's policy review
covering the region during her Asian trip last month.
Aso and U.S. President Barack Obama agreed a week later to strengthen
assistance for the reconstruction of Afghanistan in their talks in Washington.
In Afghanistan, meanwhile, President Hamid Karzai said the same day that he
will accept an electoral commission decision to hold a presidential election on
Aug. 20 while making clear he will run for re-election.
Karzai had earlier demanded an election be held 30 to 60 days before May 22,
when his five-year term expires.
==Kyodo
WASHINGTON, March 7 Kyodo -
Japan will put up about 14.1 billion yen in official development assistance to
pay the salaries of all 82,000 police officers in Afghanistan as part of its
effort to help rebuild the war-torn country, sources close to Japan-U.S.
relations said Saturday.
Japan will pay the officers' salaries for about six months until the completion
of a presidential election slated for August, the sources said. It is
unconventional for Japan's official development assistance to fund the salaries
of a recipient country's public service personnel.
According to the sources, Japan is ready to provide about 5 billion yen for
cooperation in holding the election, 15.4 billion yen for anti-terror and
security measures, and 9.7 billion yen for fighting poverty.
The assistance for the police officers' salaries is included in the anti-terror
and security portion of the aid program, and will be extended to a United
Nations Development Programme special fund. Afghanistan is not obliged to repay
the assistance money.
Tokyo is expected to notify the United States when Japan International
Cooperation Agency President Sadako Ogata and Motohide Yoshikawa, Japan's
special envoy in charge of aid for Afghanistan and Pakistan, meet with U.S.
special envoy Richard Holbrooke in Washington on Monday.
Japan has stepped up its work on an aid program since U.S. Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton requested Tokyo's participation in Washington's policy review
covering the region during her Asian trip last month.
Aso and U.S. President Barack Obama agreed a week later to strengthen
assistance for the reconstruction of Afghanistan in their talks in Washington.
In Afghanistan, meanwhile, President Hamid Karzai said the same day that he
will accept an electoral commission decision to hold a presidential election on
Aug. 20 while making clear he will run for re-election.
Karzai had earlier demanded an election be held 30 to 60 days before May 22,
when his five-year term expires.
==Kyodo
