Minister A.Ažubalis called on the Afghan Government and the international community to dedicate more attention to such relatively safe and stable regions like Ghor Province, aiming to ensure balanced development of the entire country.

The Minister said that he valued the arrangements to build the East-West link road connecting Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, and the city of Herat. A large section of this road would run through Ghor Province and would allow improvement on the quality of the communication with the country’s two main cities, and would boost both social and economic development of the province.

Minister A.Ažubalis stressed the need to coordinate separate efforts by different donor countries, NATO, EU and UN in making full use of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) potential in assisting Afghanistan and Central Asian countries in border management, raising election standards, counter-narcotics efforts, training of military forces and civilian capacity building.

The conference, which was attended by delegates from more than 75 countries and international organizations, aimed to consider and endorse an Afghan Government-led plan for improved social and economic development, governance, and guaranteeing stability.

The results of the international conference are expected to lay a firm foundation for creating the right conditions for an effective process of the transfer of responsibility to Afghanistan’s Government.

Lithuania has led the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Ghor Province since 2005. The military and civilian personnel from Croatia, Denmark, Georgia, Japan, Romania, Ukraine and the U.S.A. also serve and work in the PRT in Ghor. Around 150 Lithuanian soldiers are deployed in Ghor Province and a squadron serves in the South of Afghanistan.