Billions for Afghanistan — deutschland.de

Geneva (dpa) - The international community is continuing to support Afghanistan, a country ravaged by civil war, violence, drought and the coronavirus pandemic, with billions of euros in aid. However, it became clear at the international donor conference in Geneva that less money is likely to be raised than at the 2016 conference, when it was a good 15 billion dollars. According to the Finnish hosts, the donor countries promised a total of around three billion dollars (around 2.5 billion euros) for the coming year. They attached conditions to any payments beyond that, however. This also included Germany. Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas promised "up to 430 million euros" for 2021. "We want to maintain a comparable level in the years up to 2024, if circumstances permit," the SPD politician said via video link. Afghanistan must preserve democracy and the rule of law, implement good governance, fight corruption, and respect human rights, especially the rights of women and minorities, Maas said.

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