Germany and the United Arab Emirates agreed Monday jointly to fund a project to upgrade a key airport in northern Afghanistan at Mazar-i-Sharif into a regional air transport hub. The German Foreign Ministry said the total cost would be 35 million euros (47 million dollars).
UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan agreed on the project at a meeting with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier. He was visiting Berlin accompanying the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, who met with both Chancellor Angela Merkel and Steinmeier.