KEY POINTS:
New Zealand will give $800,000 in aid to Afghanistan, says Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters.
The aid will go towards helping local communities in Afghanistan's Bamyan province build or repair irrigation systems, improve local roads and extend electricity supply to villages.
New Zealand troops have been helping stabilise Bamyan for several years.
"Ongoing conflict, political instability and severe periods of drought have caused extreme poverty in Afghanistan, especially in rural communities in provinces such as Bamyan," Mr Peters said.
Non-government aid organisation Tear Fund, which has been working in Bamyan province for the past 10 years, welcomed the announcement.
New Zealand executive director Stephen Tollestrup said poverty in Bamyan was extreme.
- NZPA
