The Dutch Foreign Ministry in The Hague has requested long-term German cooperation in reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan's Uruzgan province, Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa was told Monday in the provincial capital Tarin Kowt. Confirming the official request, German Development Ministry spokesman Markus Weidling in Berlin that the possibility of such Dutch-German cooperation was being studied. As part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops, the Netherlands currently leads civilian-military reconstruction in Uruzgan. The cooperation effort, which the Dutch would like to begin in summer, would include projects in rural development including road construction. German Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul is to discuss the plans at an informal dinner with Afghan Finance Minister Anwar ul haq Ahadi and other EU colleagues in Brussels. If the Dutch request is accepted, Uruzgan would become the centre of German development work in southern Afghanistan.
