Slovakia to Help Primarily Afghanistan, Kenya and Moldova in 2017

Bratislava, February 22 (TASR) – Slovakia’s chief ambition this year in terms of development aid is to deal with fragmentation and to further expand the capacities and powers of the national development agency, including via a gradual increase in the volume of funds earmarked for development aid, according to a proposal approved by the Cabinet on Wednesday.

In line with the development aid programme for 2017, which was submitted to the session by Foreign and European Affairs Minister Miroslav Lajcak (a Smer-SD nominee), Slovakia will focus on three countries – Afghanistan, Kenya and Moldova.

Regarding Afghanistan, the aid will primarily be used for education, agriculture and reforming the security sector. “The Foreign and European Affairs Ministry will allocate €200,000 for development aid in Afghanistan in 2017 from the Slovak Aid budget. This sum doesn’t include the expected additional contribution for supporting this country,” reads the material.

Programme cooperation with Kenya in 2017 will be underpinned by a new intergovernmental agreement on development aid. A new element will be a joint project by the Visegrad Group/V4 countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) that will be financed from the EU Trust Fund for Africa. The Foreign Affairs Ministry will earmark €1.2 million for the major objectives of development aid in Kenya this year.

As for development aid in Moldova, Slovakia is set to focus mainly on the correct functioning of the country’s public administration, water and sanitation. The ministry will designate €600,000 to this effect.

Meanwhile, Syria, along with its neighbouring countries and South Sudan, will remain Slovakia’s territorial priorities in 2017 as well. The state will also focus on Serbia and Macedonia, to which it will provide humanitarian aid.