Update on AIT-Afghanistan Task Force
On 18 July, AIT President Said Irandoust, chaired the AIT-Afghanistan Task Force meeting which was attended by the Schools, AIT Extension representatives and External Relations and Communications Office (ERCO) staff, namely Dr. S. Guha, Dr. Animesh Dutta (for Dr. Mithulananthan), Dr. S. Singh, Dr. Pritam Shrestha and Ms. Naina Shakya. In a follow-up to the President's visit to Afghanistan, and ensuing discussions, the Task Force agreed to invite the heads of the Kabul Polytechnic University and Balkh University and a representative of the Ministry of Higher Education of Afghanistan to visit AIT. The Task Force is currently in the process of identifying areas of focus where AIT could assist regarding human resources development and other capacity building programs in Afghanistan. The Task Force will be meeting again on 25 July to examine the different modalities and role of AIT in delivering the programs. A concept paper will be prepared by the Task Force and presented to the identified organizations for consideration. The envisaged partnership would be under World Bank funding.