India, Afghanistan sign MoU on culture

New Delhi, May 27 (ANI): India and Afghanistan have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to further enhance cultural ties here on Friday.

Union Tourism Minister Kumari Selja and Dr. Sayed Makhdoom Raheen, Minister for Information and Culture, Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, have signed the MoU.

This MoU is part of the broader MoU on National Institution Building Project (NIBP) signed on March 30, 2010 between Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, Independent Administrative Reforms and Civil Service Commission (IARCSC), Government of Afghanistan and UNDP for facilitating public sector capacity development in Afghanistan.

The MoU signed today aims at sending Capacity Development Advisors (CDAs) from India for providing capacity development support to Afghanistan in the following areas:

Common functions of government (policy and strategy development, project management, financial management, procurement and human resource management) and the technical areas.

The technical areas of cooperation, which shall be an evolving list and shall be determined in accordance with the needs assessment ascertained over time during the implementation of this MOU. An initial indicative list of areas of cooperation for capacity development is an under: -

(i) Promotion of art and culture.

(ii) Development of archaeological institutions, museums, libraries and archives.

(iii) Preservation and restoration of historical and cultural sites.

(iv) Promotion of cultural heritage of Afghanistan.

(v) Marketing of cultural places to improve tourism in Afghanistan.

The contribution by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India shall be in kind in terms of provision of services of its experts/advisors in accordance with the Terms of Reference for assignments identified by the Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

The Ministry of Culture, Government of India, shall assume responsibility for facilitating conduct of activities under this agreement at its location. (ANI)