The Ambassador and the individual sections
The Ambassador
Werner Hans Lauk
The Political Section
The Political Section's main task is the promotion of bilateral relations at the political level and the implementation of the Afghan peace process that commenced with the Bonn (Petersberg) Conference held in November/December 2001. This is done through a permanent dialogue with the major political actors of the country: with the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan as well as with a broad spectrum of political and civil society forces. Topics include the whole range of political issues, the observation and analysis of Afghanistan's foreign and domestic policies, regional and international political cooperation, the preparation and management of highlevel visits of political decisionmakers as well as the coordination of policies in multilateral bodies. This year, special emphasis is put on the first free parliamentary elections the country witnesses since the early seventies.
The Section for Economic Co-operation, Humanitarian Aid and Economic Affairs
The Section for Economic Co-operation, Humanitarian Aid and Economic Affairs co-ordinates Germany’s development co-operation with Afghanistan. It is leading the policy dialogue with the Afghan Government in this area and co-ordinates German activities with those of other donors countries. The Economic Department of the German Embassy is also responsible to comment on the relevance and sensibility of humanitarian aid projects and to monitor their implementation. Helping German investors and entrepreneurs is taking up an increasing share of the department’s portfolio as the German business community is becoming larger and larger.
The Consular Section
The Consular Section is designed to provide assistance to German nationals living in Afghanistan. In case of emergencies or in merely administrative matters the Consular Section is the first point of contact. The visa section - being one part of the Consular Section - deals with visa applications of Afghans and other nationals who wish to travel to Germany.
The Cultural Section
The Cultural Section deals with German-Afghan cultural and educational relations. This includes the co-ordination of our general policies as well as the co-ordination of all projects run within the framework of our special cultural and educational reconstruction programme, supported and managed by German institutions such as the Goethe-Institute, the Central Agency for German Schools Abroad, the German Academic Exchange Service, the German Archaeological Institute or the German Football Federation.
The Press Section
The Embassy’s Press Section aims to convey a realistic and comprehensive image of Germany and serves the purpose to explain the policy of the German Government and its aims. Special focus lies on the presentation of Germany’s contribution to the reconstruction of Afghanistan. The Press Section assists German journalists visiting Afghanistan as well as Afghan journalists seeking more detailed information on Germany.
The Military Section
The Embassy´s Military-Political Advisor represents the Federal Ministry of Defence and the German Armed Forces, the Bundeswehr, in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and is part of the Diplomatic Community.
Some of his major tasks are:
- to advise the Ambassador and the Embassy´s staff on military security issues, defence policy, as well as military affairs.
- to promote the military-political relations between the German Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Defence of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
The Military-Political Advisor provides information on German defence policy and strategy, the German Armed Forces and its armaments.
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