JICA's Ogata anticipates Japan's more direct Afghan aid policy+

TOKYO, Nov. 7 Kyodo -
Sadako Ogata, president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, said
Saturday she anticipates that the new aid package being planned by Tokyo for
Afghanistan will be a more direct one for the country, saying the ongoing
refueling mission in the Indian Ocean is indirect support for the war-torn
nation.

Speaking to news organizations during a Japan-Germany symposium on development
assistance in Tokyo, Ogata said the new Japanese government is trying to shift
its contribution into ''something more directly related to Afghanistan'' and
work out an aid package ''on a slightly longer projection basis.''
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Friday his government plans to provide
Afghanistan with civilian-based support worth a total of 400 billion to 500
billion yen for five years. The new aid package is expected to involve farming
assistance, vocational training for former Taliban insurgents and aid to
bolster local police functions.
The fresh aid is expected to replace Japan's current refueling mission to
provide fuel and water to foreign naval vessels engaged in the U.S.-led
antiterrorism operations in and around Afghanistan. The operations by the
Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels are set to end in January and the
government has no plan to extend the task.
Ogata pointed out Japan's civilian-based assistance in Afghanistan has so far
basically focused on ''economic and social development and infrastructure'' and
Tokyo has contributed about $2 billion over the past six years.
She said Japanese aid workers have won public confidence in the
conflict-ravaged country because they engage in activities related to road
construction, schools and hospitals -- areas concerning local people's
livelihoods.
The former U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees stressed the importance of
focusing on the people based on the concept of ''human security'' in delivering
aid in the forms of physical security as well as basic health and education
services.
Referring to an idea fielded by the Defense Ministry to send Japan's
Self-Defense Forces liaison officers to the headquarters of the international
security mission in Afghanistan to help rebuild the country, Ogata said, ''If
they have something to learn, that's fine, great.''
But the aid organization chief said the administration of U.S. President Barack
Obama has suggested each contributing country determine their assistance policy
for Afghanistan based on their ''best caliber.''
At the symposium, Chinami Nishimura, parliamentary vice foreign minister, said
the Hatoyama government intends to shift its Afghan aid policy from ''oil to
water'' to stabilize the country, where the mainstay industry is agriculture,
by hearing local people's views on their needs.
Former Afghan Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali said international efforts to
stabilize Afghanistan have failed due partly to ''the uncoordinated and poorly
resourced efforts'' to support the country. He also criticized much of the
foreign aid to Afghanistan for being ''supply-driven.''
Such assistance is ''often donated with little thought to how it can be used to
support local development projects,'' Jalali said. Over two-thirds of it
''bypasses the Afghan government,'' with much being absorbed by companies and
subcontractors, he added.
Wolfgang Schmitt, managing director of German technical cooperation agency GTZ,
told reporters he is aware of the need for aid organizations in Afghanistan to
collaborate more.
==Kyodo
2009-11-07 22:34:53