For more information, contact: Abdul Raouf Zia or Benjamin Crow

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INTRODUCTION

On November 18-19, 2006, the second Regional Economic Cooperation conference was held in New Delhi, India. The conference was a follow up to last year's conference which looked at priorities for regional cooperation and set out an agenda for moving forward. Agriculture, electricity trade, energy, transport, and trade facilitation in the region surrounding Afghanistan were some of the main issues discussed at the conference. A “New Delhi declaration,” adopted at the end of the conference, urged neighboring countries to open up aviation and other facilities to make transportation easier in the area. For more information, please visit the conference page.

On November 12, 2006, the high-level Afghan-International body charged with overseeing the Afghanistan Compact met to examine progress so far and ensure continued momentum despite an ongoing insurgency in the south and east of the country. The meeting was the third quarterly session of the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Body (JCMB). Among those attending was a visiting delegation of the United Nations Security Council. The JCMB oversees implementation of the goals of the Afghanistan Compact – the five-year blueprint for reconstruction that was signed in February 2006 at the London Conference on Afghanistan. For more information, please visit JCMB page.

WORLD BANK SUPPORT

Since April 2002, the World Bank has committed over US$1.25 billion for 22 development and emergency reconstruction projects and two budget support operations in Afghanistan. This support comprises US$816.8 million in grants and US$436.4 million in no-interest loans—known as “credits.” Two budget support operations and emergency public works, infrastructure reconstruction, and education rehabilitation projects have so far been completed.

The Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), administered by the World Bank on behalf of 25 donors and managed in conjunction with Asian Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, United Nations Assistance Mission for Afghanistan, and United Nations Development Program, remains the main mechanism for providing coordinated funding support to Afghanistan’s recurrent budget and investments in line with agreed budget priorities of the government. As October 22, 2006, 25 donors had pledged US$1.66 billion to ARTF, of which US$1.45 billion has been received.

The Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF), administered by the World Bank, has provided a special window for Afghanistan which operates in a harmonized manner to support national programs of the government. By January, 2007, Japanese contribution to JSDF reached US$49 million.

The World Bank has provided advice to help the government manage donor funds effectively and in a transparent way. The World Bank also supported the government by providing analytical work on the economy, public administration, gender, poverty, the opium economy, and an ongoing public finance management (PFM) review. The Bank has actively supported key reforms, particularly in the fiscal and public administration spheres and through its budget support operation. It has advocated building capacity and legitimacy of the State, and channeling donor resources through the government to ensure investments are aligned with national priorities. To this end, the World Bank works closely with other multilateral and bilateral agencies across a number of sectors where aid coordination and government ownership is most critical.

Main objectives of the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board (JCMB) are to:

• Provide high-level political support for the Afghanistan Compact;
• Provide direction to address significant issues of coordination, implementation, financing for the benchmarks and timelines in the Compact, and any other obstacles and bottlenecks identified either by the government or the international community;
• Report on the implementation of the Compact to the President, National Assembly, the UN Secretary General, the donors, and the public.