ASTANA (TCA) — The Seminar on Capacity-Building and Networking for Civil Servants and NGOs from Afghanistan opened on July 8 at Nazarbayev University in Astana, Kazakhstan. The Seminar is held in the framework of the joint project “Promoting Kazakhstan’s Official Development Assistance Cooperation with Afghanistan”. This project is conducted jointly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Embassy of Japan to Kazakhstan, and supported by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), UNDP in Kazakhstan said.
The main goal of the project is to pursue two main tasks. Firstly, to provide Kazakhstan with a unique opportunity to actively participate in the development and implementation of the project of Official Development Assistance (ODA). Secondly, to make a fair contribution to further development of Afghanistan by expanding economic independence and rights of Afghan women.
The Seminar will help build capacities and networking between Afghan civil servants, representatives of NGOs, as well as their counterparts from Kazakhstan. Over the course of the seminar the participants will get acquainted with the political system of Kazakhstan, will learn more about Kazakhstan’s civil service, gender-sensitive budgeting, and will visit public institutions.
“In the coming week, a range of experts will share Kazakhstan’s experience in building political and civil service models, combatting corruption and promoting economic development, advancing gender rights and building harmonious and prosperous society. The seminar interactive programme includes workshops, case studies, discussions, and a cultural programme. It will provide opportunities to exchange ideas and network to strengthen future cooperation and implementation of similar projects,” said UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative Norimasa Shimomura.
With the project “Promoting Kazakhstan’s ODA Cooperation with Afghanistan” Kazakhstan will further systematize its ODA system, and build the necessary expertise to plan, monitor and evaluate its development assistance in an efficient, effective and transparent manner.
