KABUL (TCA) — The Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF), the largest source of on-budget financing for Afghanistan’s development, will continue to support the government’s poverty reduction, service delivery and inclusive growth efforts, contributing up to $2.485 billion over the next three years to the national budget, according to the results of a meeting held on June 25, the World Bank said.

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KABUL (TCA) — Officials from the European Union and Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) said they will spend over $16 million to promote border trade and expand economic ties along the border between Afghanistan and Tajikistan, Afghan broadcaster TOLOnews reported.

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BISHKEK (TCA) — On June 25, the United Nations’ MAPS mission arrived in Kyrgyzstan for a week-long visit to support the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic in adopting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to the country’s development needs and priorities through mainstreaming, acceleration, and policy support (MAPS).

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DUSHANBE (TCA) — The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Board of Directors has approved a $6.5 million grant as additional financing for the ongoing efforts to improve water resources management in the Pyanj River Basin, Tajikistan’s largest river basin, in the southern part of the country. The additional financing will be accompanied by a $5 million grant from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), to be administered by ADB, the Bank said on June 26.

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ASHGABAT (TCA) — Human Rights Watch (HRW) has called on a German technology company to publicly disclose whether it is considering sales to Turkmenistan, and how it is addressing the possibility that its technology will be used by the Turkmen government to block websites and carry out surveillance in violation of human rights, RFE/RL reports.

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TASHKENT (TCA) — Authorities in Uzbekistan have released a U.S. citizen who was detained on suspicion of joining a terrorist group and fighting alongside Islamist insurgents in Afghanistan, RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service reported.

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