The General Director of ANDMA met with the Director-General of the European Union’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO)

Today, on Thursday, the Director-General of Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority, respected Alhaj Mullah Nooruddin Turabi, met and held talks with Mr. Andreas Papakonstantinou, the Director-General of the European Union’s Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), and his accompanying delegation.

In his welcoming remarks, the respected Alhaj Turabi Sahb stated, “Our humanitarian diplomacy requires us to maintain good relations with all organizations. With this objective in mind, we have provided every possible facilitation to aid organizations based on the two principles of speed and transparency.”  

While explaining the Authority’s workflow, he added, “Our advice to you and to all humanitarian aid organizations is to prioritize, alongside humanitarian assistance, long-term development and preventive projects — because prevention always costs less. Our engineers have identified all vulnerable areas that require project implementation, and if needed, these will be shared with you.”  

Alhaj Turabi Sahb emphasized, “We deliver services to the people without any discrimination based on ethnicity, religion, region, or gender — a fact that has been practically proven through our cooperation with institutions.”

For his part, Mr. Andreas Papakonstantinou, the Director-General of ECHO, said, “Through our partners, we are well aware of your seriousness, swift response, and practical cooperation, which is why we have come first to meet with you. ECHO has a dedicated budget for Afghanistan, which means we are present here and stand firmly by our commitment to stand with the people.”

Mr. Andreas further stated:  
“We share common goals in disaster management, disaster response, and mine clearance, and we work together on speed and transparency. Thanks to the essential facilitations provided by the National Disaster Management Authority to our partners, ECHO’s commitments in Afghanistan remain unchanged. We are hopeful that bilateral cooperation between our two institutions will be further strengthened.”

At the conclusion of the meeting, both sides exchanged gifts they had prepared for one another.

December 4th, 2025

Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority - ANDMA