H.E. Hamid Karzai, President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, and His Highness the Aga Khan jointly inaugurated the Kabul Serena Hotel this morning.

During the opening ceremony the President said, "The restoration and expansion of Kabul Serena Hotel is a significant step towards greater economic prosperity in Afghanistan and it is the first biggest foreign and private investment in our country. The people of Afghanistan warmly welcome this investment."

His Highness the Aga Khan said, "In 2002, the Government of Afghanistan asked the AKDN to help in restoring the Kabul Hotel and we started to restore this hotel in 2003. This hotel will be an important facility for business, meetings, conferences and social events."

The Kabul Serena Hotel has been restored by the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) as part of a broad and integrated development program for Afghanistan. During a 30-month reconstruction period, over US$ 30 million was expended for the renovation of this hotel.

The 177-room hotel, built to international standards, will provide the city with much needed accommodation for visitors to the city and will cater to both international and national customers.

The Hotel will employ over 400 people (90 percent of them local Afghans and 30 percent of them women). The Kabul Serena Hotel's reconstruction represents a milestone in the redevelopment of Afghanistan.

Eight development agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network are engaged in a range of economic, social, and cultural programmes in support of Afghanistan's development, in the fields of health, education, microfinance, rural development, infrastructure and the restoration and preservation of heritage sites.