RTR4BWO6.jpg (Photo : Reuters)
President Xi Jinping expressed China's continued commitment to supporting the peaceful reconstruction of strife-torn Afghanistan, according to Xinhua News Agency.
During a dialogue with newly elected Afghan President Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai on Tuesday in Beijing, Xi pledged the country's assistance to the Central Asian nation.
"China will enhance its support for Afghanistan's peaceful reconstruction, help Afghanistan frame a plan on national economic and social development, train professional and develop agriculture, hydroelectricity and infrastructure construction," Xi told Ghani.
China will extend 500 million yuan ($81.8 million) in grant assistance to the Afghan government for 2014 and 1.5 billion yuan over the next three years, according to a joint statement of strategic and cooperative partnership given after the dialogue.
Specific areas that China wants to help Afghanistan with include mining and oil, particularly the Aynak copper mine and the Amu Darya basin oil project, which will foster the country's economic development and improve the lives of the Afghan people, Xi said.
The Aynak cooper mine, 35 kilometers south of Kabul, holds an estimated 11 million tonnes of copper, which is one of the world's largest deposits of the metal. The Amu Darya basin oil project, meanwhile, is believed to contain 80 million barrels of crude oil.
In addition, China will train 3,000 Afghan professionals in different fields of expertise, the joint statement said.
Ghani, who will be attending important activites and speaking in diplomatic talks in China until Friday, is visiting the country for the first time as Afghanistan's head of state at Xi's invitation. He was sworn in last month after the first-ever peaceful transition of leadership in the country's history.
