Durrani Meets New JICA Chief Representatives for Afghanistan

Saratan 25: July 16, 2019

Nasir Ahmad Durrani, minister of agriculture, irrigation, and livestock, met with Mr. Kazuhisa Arai Japan International Cooperation Agency Chief Representative for Afghanistan today in his office.

During the meeting, both sides discussed the improvement of agriculture in Afghanistan as well as continued cooperation between Japan and Afghanistan.

Mr. Arai expressed his great appreciation for minister Durrani’s leadership and strong commitment for the agriculture and livestock sector and reassured the minister of Japan’s long-term support for Afghanistan.

Mr. Arai also informed the Minister of JICA’s plan to continue supporting the current RIPA and CDIS projects for MAIL and fund phase 2 of these projects. During the next two weeks, MAIL will submit proposals to JICA for funding phase 2 of these projects.

Mr. Durrani also emphasized that both projects, especially Rice-based Agriculture Development in Afghanistan (RIPA) must be implemented more effectively and efficiently.

Minister Durrani asked the teams to focus more on improving the quality of the Afghan rice as well in order to be able to compete with imported rice in the market.

Both sides agreed to work in a closer coordination with each other for funding of future projects.