Tuesday 17th August 2021
Development aid suspended
Federal government turns off money faucet in Afghanistan
Germany had actually pledged 430 million euros in development aid to Afghanistan for this year. But now that the Taliban have taken power, not a single cent should flow into the crisis-ridden country. The federal government hopes to be able to put pressure on the Taliban.
After the militant Islamist Taliban came to power in Afghanistan, the German government suspended state development aid for the country. Development Minister Gerd Müller confirmed this. All German and international employees of the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), which is responsible for state development aid, would have safely left the country. “We are working flat out to get local staff from German development cooperation and aid organizations that cooperate with us who want this safely out of Afghanistan,” said Müller.
Afghanistan has so far been number one among the recipient countries of German development aid. For this year, 250 million euros were estimated. But none of this has yet been paid out. In addition, funds from other departments have so far flowed to Afghanistan, for example for humanitarian aid or police training. Germany had pledged a total of 430 million euros for this year.
More on that shortly.
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