Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage Heralds Reestablishment of Fulbright Program in Afghanistan

Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage today announced the reestablishment of the Fulbright Program with Afghanistan after nearly 24 years dormant. The announcement came in a ceremony hosted by Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Patricia S. Harrison at the U.S. Department of State. His Excellency Ishaq Shahryar, Ambassador of Afghanistan to the United States, participated in the ceremony, and other diplomats from the region attended. The reactivation of the prestigious program signifies the U.S. commitment to rebuilding the once vibrant bilateral relations in education and culture, and acknowledges Afghanistan’s resurgence as a full partner in significant academic exchange.

Prior to its suspension in 1979 after the Soviet invasion, the Afghanistan–United States Fulbright Program had a rich history of promoting mutual respect and understanding through educational and cultural exchange. Beginning in 1952, Americans contributed to Afghanistan’s educational and legal systems through educational activities conducted in the United States. Beginning with its bilateral establishment in 1963, the United States Educational Commission in Afghanistan sponsored until 1979 over 250 Afghan students and scholars, and over 75 American students and scholars in fields such as architecture, law and economics.

Today the Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, in collaboration with the Bureau of South Asian Affairs’ Office of Public Diplomacy and the U.S. Embassy’s Public Affairs Section in Kabul, has constructed a one-year, non-degree Fulbright educational program in the United States for young Afghan men and women graduating as university seniors, as well as for academically qualified women who were deprived of formal study during the Taliban era.

Under the new program, in September 2003, a minimum of 20 Afghan students will attend pre-academic training in the United States to become familiar with U.S. culture and academic principles, and to enhance their English language skills, before enrolling at selected U.S. colleges and universities. Among the priority first-year program themes will be primary and secondary school teaching, English language teaching, Study of the United States, public administration and public policy, journalism and media, and economics and business. The participants will enhance their academic and professional skills, enabling them to lead in the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan, and to strengthen ties between their country and the United States.