Minister of Rural Development and Rehabilitation Visits the United Nations and Canada

Ottawa - His Excellency Mohammed Ehsan Zia, Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD), accompanied the Afghan Presidential delegation on visits to the United Nations Headquarters and Canada from September 18 - 25, 2006. During the visit, Minister Zia met with senior representatives of the United Nations and the Canadian government, including the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) which is helping disburse close to $1 billion in Canadian aid over 10 years to help with Afghan reconstruction, poverty reduction and governance

"The visit provided an excellent opportunity to hear the message of President Karzai, and demonstrate the commitment of the Afghan government to achieving the UN-mandated goals of the Afghan Compact." said Minister Zia. "My Ministry has a direct impact on the lives of the poorest Afghans, so it's particularly important that international partners and donors understand and have faith in what MRRD trying to accomplish."

The visit included stops in New York, Ottawa, and Montreal. While in Ottawa, Minister Zia attended President Karzai's address to a joint session of the Canadian Parliament on 22 September, and met with the Canadian Minister responsible for CIDA, the Honourable Josee Verner, and the President of CIDA, Robert Greenhill.

"Canada and Canadians have been key contributors to MRRD," said Minister Zia. "The Canadian government's announcement October 11 that they will be investing an additional $18 million into highly successful MRRD programs such as the National Solidarity Program (NSP) and the National Area Based Development Program (NABDP) will go a long way towards helping ordinary Afghans rebuild their lives," said Minister Zia. The NSP gives rural Afghans a direct say in community-based development projects by providing grants of up to $60,000 US each to over 13,000 democratically-elected community development councils, while the NABDP improves access to markets, water and other basic services for the over 80% of Afghans who live in rural areas.

Minister Zia adds that Canada's aid dollars will have additional impact because they go directly into Afghan-run organizations. "To achieve long-term success in Afghanistan, it is imperative that donors invest directly in open, transparent and accountable Afghan institutions such as MRRD. I'm particularly pleased that Canadians have chosen this path, and confident that their dollars will make a real difference in the lives of Afghanistan's rural poor."