ISAF Allies and Partners confirm support to the Afghan National Army
At the first meeting of the Afghan National Army Trust Fund Board this morning (Monday, 1 September], NATO Allies and ISAF partners launched the adapted Afghan National Army (ANA) Trust Fund , which will be used to continue to support the Afghan army after 2014. “This ANA Trust Fund Board has a crucial role to play in monitoring the ANA Trust Fund and in reviewing its management and implementation”, Ambassador Alexander Vershbow, Deputy Secretary General of NATO and Co-Chairman of the Board, said.
At this first meeting, NATO Allies and ISAF partners confirmed their funding pledges made at the 2012 NATO Chicago Summit. For the ANA Trust Fund, funding pledges to date total approximately 400 million dollars for 2015. The funds, once available, will be used to sustain the Afghan National Army and to pursue capacity and capability-building efforts of the Afghan National Army, particularly at the institutional level.
As agreed at the 2012 NATO Chicago Summit, the NATO-ANA Trust Fund Board is designed to monitor and review the management of the funds with a view to ensuring its cost effectiveness, financial integrity and accountability. “For us to maintain trust and support from our domestic audience, we must guarantee transparency, accountability and independent auditing of financial flows” Ambassador Michael Koch, German Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan and co-chairman of the Board, stressed.
Afghan Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr. Muhammad Mustafa Mastoor; Ms. Christine Abizaid, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence, and Major General Kevin Wendell for the United States as Trust Fund Manager; and Mr. Basil Massey, from the UN Development Programme (UNDP) attended the meeting.
First established in 2007, the ANA Trust Fund was adapted in 2013 to become one of the four funding streams to be used by the International Community, along with the UNDP Law and Order Trust Fund (LOTFA) for the Afghan police; the budget of the Afghan Government; and the bilateral Afghan Security Forces Fund of the United States. Since its creation in 2007, more than 900 million USD have been donated or pledged through the NATO ANA Trust Fund. Funds have been used to support in- and out-of-country training, including literacy and English language training for the Afghan army and police; cover transportation, installation and maintenance costs for the Afghan army and air force donated equipment; and purchase of ANA equipment and services for engineering projects.