China to help build dam, roads in Afghanistan
Updated: 2015-02-11 14:14
(Agencies/chinadaily.com.cn)
|
|||||||||
KABUL/BEIJING - China has promised to help build a hydroelectric power plant in a Afghan border region, as well as road and rail links to Pakistan.
The assistance will include an unspecified amount of financing, an Afghan foreign ministry spokesman, Sirajul Haq Siraj, said on Tuesday, a day after senior Afghan, Chinese and Pakistani diplomats met in Kabul.
"China agreed to support relevant initiatives for projects including the Kunar hydropower plant and strengthening road and rail connections between Afghanistan and Pakistan," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing in Beijing.
The planned 1,500 megawatt dam on the Kunar River, was previously supported only by Pakistan, which could buy some of the electricity it generates.
In 2013, Pakistan said it would also build a motorway connecting the Pakistani city of Peshawar to Kabul, as well as a railway line from Chaman, on the Pakistani side of Afghanistan's southeastern border to the southern Afghan city of Kandahar.
Kunar is one of Afghanistan's most active battlefields, with deep valleys and forests near the Pakistan border providing cover for different factions of the Taliban.
China's involvement could speed up work on these projects, but the amount of Chinese financing for the dam and other projects would be decided in later trilateral meetings, Siraj said.
At the meeting, the diplomats also discussed ways to bring Taliban militants to the negotiating table, following a Chinese proposal late last year for a "peace and reconciliation" forum.
"The three sides resolved to make concerted efforts in maintaining peace and stability in Afghanistan," Pakistan said in a statement.
- Chinese, Afghan presidents exchange congratulatory messages on ties
- China plays mediator in Afghanistan
- China to continue supporting Afghanistan: ambassador
- 2014 marked by peaceful transfer of power in Afghanistan
- Country keen to help rebuild Afghanistan
- China willing to play constructive role in Afghan reconstruction: PM
- China offers aid to Afghanistan
- Premier: China willing to help Afghan infrastructure
- 10 destinations favored by Chinese property investors
- Spring Festival goods in the making
- New Year scenes preserved in old photos
- Remembering the dead on the seventh day after TransAsia crash
- A homeward bound motor "gang"
- Farmer builds sports car out of wood
- Bleak outlook for art students six months after graduation
- US launches drive to save monarch butterfly
Most Viewed
Editor's Picks
Festival Special: Apps that make holiday shopping easier |
Alibaba places China smartphone business bet with $590m Meizu deal |
China, US vow to deepen military relations |
Premier Li attends Davos Forum |
Li Na expecting first baby |
Star's marriage is 'bittersweet' news for fans |
Today's Top News
President Xi to visit US in September
Study sees consumer confidence faltering
NBC News anchor Brian Williams suspended
US confirms death of IS-held hostage
High royalties key reason behind Qualcomm fine: NDRC
Net regulator to meet US ambassador on WeChat
The peeping eyes of the United States
January inflation cools to 0.8%
US Weekly
Geared to go |
The place to be |