Britain pledges $350m in aid to Afghanistan

Friday July 22, 2005 (1405 PST)

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KABUL: Britain has pledged $350 million in aid for reconstruction in the war-ravaged Afghanistan.

A British Embassy statement released here on Thursday states the aid was announced following a meeting between Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai and British Secretary of State for International Development Hilary Benn the other day.

The amount will be spent on paying salaries to government employees, improving condition of schools, hospitals and a number of other public facilities.

The finance ministry said its development expenditures for the current fiscal year stood at $704 million, which would be financed by foreign donors.

President Hamid Karzai, who has now arrived in Italy after visiting London, had also signed an Enduring Relationship Agreement with Britain.

The statement said aim of the agreement was to promote close cooperation between the two countries and support reconstruction in Afghanistan.

As part of the aid, $22 million will be spent on upgrading working capacity of organisations combating drugs in Afghanistan, Benn was quoted as saying in the statement.