Canada is providing Afghanistan with an aid of 30 million Canadian dollars (26 million U.S. dollars) to help rebuild its economy and provide economic opportunities for women there, according to a statement issued on Monday by the Ministry of International Cooperation.

Nearly half of the money is to be used to build schools and train 4,000 female school teachers for some 120,000 schoolchildren, most of them girls, in 11 Afghan provinces, International Cooperation Minister Josee Verner, who visited Afghanistan on Sunday, said in the statement.

Another 5 million Canadian dollars (4.4 million U.S. dollars) is to be used to help some 1,500 Afghan women to grow and sell fruits and vegetables.

Besides, 10 million Canadian dollars (8.9 million U.S. dollars) will go to ongoing construction projects in the country.

"Canada is proud to help Afghan women realize the promise of the country's new constitution, which recognizes the rights of women," Verner said in the statement.

"These projects also mobilize the power of women as agents of economic development and social change, to improve the well-being of their families and their communities," the minister said.

Source: Xinhua