World Bank Chief Says Afghanistan 'Has To Stand on its Own Two Feet'
World Bank President Robert Zoellick
July 25, 2008
Robert Zoellick assesses Afghanistan's aid strategy during an exclusive RFE/RL interview.
(WASHINGTON/KABUL--July 25, 2008) During an exclusive interview conducted at the conclusion of his visit this week to Afghanistan, World Bank President Robert Zoellick told RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan that, "given the terrible situation...there has been enormous progress" since 2001, but that more needed to be done to "show a large number of the Afghan people that they can have a say in the future of their country."
Read a transcript of the interview here.
Zoellick also offered an assessment of the Afghanistan National Development Strategy, noting that aid providers must look to both provide support for specific projects and build the capacity of the government to efficiently deliver aid and "meet the needs of its citizens."
Radio Free Afghanistan, the Dari- and Pashto-language service of RFE/RL, broadcasts are produced in Prague and the service's Kabul Bureau and transmitted to listeners via shortwave, satellite and AM and FM signals provided by the International Broadcasting Bureau. Radio Free Afghanistan programming is also available via the Internet, at the service's trilingual website and at http://www.rferl.org; English-language news about events in Afghanistan can be found here on the RFE/RL website.