Press Release on the Official Visit of Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
PRESS RELEASE
ON THE
OFFICIAL VISIT OF H.E. DR ABDULLAH ABDULLAH
FOREIGN MINISTER OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF AFGHANISTAN
TO MALAYSIA,
14-16 MARCH 2006
H.E. Dr Abdullah Abdullah, Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan will visit Malaysia from 14-16 March 2006. Dr Abdullah Abdullah is leading a 27-member delegation comprising two Deputy Ministers, senior Government officials and private sector representatives.
This will be the first official visit of Dr Abdullah Abdullah to Malaysia since Afghanistan successfully held its Presidential and parliamentary elections in 2004 and 2005 respectively. With the holding of the Presidential and Parliamentary elections, Afghanistan has finally completed all the benchmarks provided in the Bonn Agreement of 2001. Having completed the democratic process, Afghanistan is embarking on nation building and reconstruction. Encouraged by the progress in Afghanistan, the donor community at the London Conference on Afghanistan recently announced pledges of USD10.5 billion to assist Afghanistan in its development programme for the next 5 years.
While in Malaysia, H.E. Dr Abdullah Abdullah is scheduled to deliver an address at the opening ceremony of the Seminar on Business Opportunities in Afghanistan organized jointly by the Governments of Malaysia and Afghanistan and also by the UNDP at the Renaissance Hotel on 14 March 2006 in Kuala Lumpur. YB Dato’ Seri Syed Hamid Albar, Foreign Minister of Malaysia will also address the Seminar. The Seminar jointly organized by Matrade, EPU and Wisma Putra is to create awareness among the members of the Malaysian private sector of trade and investment opportunities in Afghanistan.
The Afghanistan Foreign Minister will also hold bilateral meeting with Dato’ Seri Syed Hamid Albar and make a courtesy call on YAB Dato’ Seri Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi, Prime Minister of Malaysia during his stay in Malaysia.
The visit by the Foreign Minister of Afghanistan will further enhance relations between Malaysia and Afghanistan.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Putrajaya
10 March 2006