Prague, June 8 (CTK) – The Czech government will give 40 million crowns to Afghanistan for its military training and developmental projects and for a scholarship programme for Syrian students, Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek said after a cabinet meeting yesterday.
This confirms that the Czech Republic provides aid to countries, from which the highest numbers of refugees have been coming to Europe, Zaoralek said.
The developmental projects are aimed at reducing poverty and boosting economic growth. “It is an effort to create such conditions that people would not leave Afghanistan,” he said.
In exchange for the provision of aid, the Czech government wants Afghanistan to cooperate in negotiations about readmission agreements, Zaoralek said.
Afghanistan should help the Czech Republic take steps that would help deal with the problems of refugees, he added.
At present, 18 Syrian students are studying in the Czech Republic. The cabinet approved the continuation of the scholarship programme.
“The assessment is positive, the students show high interest, they learn Czech language, they have excellent results,” Zaoralek said.
The Syrian students would complete their Czech language course by the end of the year and then choose their fields of study.
Zaoralek said he hoped the students would return to their homeland after completing their studies and contribute to its reconstruction.
($1=23.815 crowns)
kva/dr/rtj
