By Artur Weber
GHAZNI CITY, Afghanistan -- The Ghazni Provincial Reconstruction Team celebrated the opening of a conference hall in the provincial governor’s compound, Dec. 15. The U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry and the Polish Ambassador to Afghanistan Maciej Lang were two distinguished visitors who attended the ceremony.
The conference hall project started in late May and can accommodate more than 600 people. The facility cost more than $185,000, financed by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is part of the preparation for when Ghazni City will be home to the World Islamic Cultural Center in 2013.
The ceremony was also attended by Polish Brig. Gen. Andrzej Reudowicz, Task Force White Eagle commander, Gov. Musa Khan, Ghazni provincial governor, and other government and district representatives.
After the ceremony, the ambassadors, together with Reudowicz, participated in a meeting with Khan, district subgovernors and local community leaders. The talks focused on security issues in Ghazni Province.
A press conference followed the meeting during which Ambassador Eikenberry announced a sister-city partnership between Ghazni City and Hayword, Calif. This partnership is in addition to the already established regional partnership between Ghazni Province and the Kujawsko-Pomorski region of Poland, which occurred during Khan’s recent trip to Poland.