The Japanese government has agreed to provide the Afghan government with $3.6 million USD in aid – a move sealed on Sunday in Kabul after the agreement was signed between the Japanese ambassador to Kabul and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).

Deputy foreign minister for political affairs Hekmat Khalil Karzai said the aid package will be invested in education, procurement and infrastructure projects.

“Japan government's aid will be spent on procurement, education and infrastructure and rural development projects. In addition to project based funds, Japan has provided lots of aid to Afghanistan,” said Karzai.

Mitsuji Suzuka, the Japanese ambassador to Kabul did however call for the money to be invested in a transparent manner by the Afghan government. 

“I strongly hope and urge that the government of Afghanistan makes the best use of Japan's contribution to strengthen its capacity in an efficient manner,” he said. 

According to the ministry of foreign affairs, Japan has provided capacity building and education opportunities to more than 4,000 government employees over the past few years and also granted 750 scholarships to Afghan students.

Foreign ministry officials also said Japan has given $6.4 billion USD to the Afghan government, used in different fields, over the past 15 years.