More than 400 Afghan citizens temporarily staying in Uzbekistan were involved in a project to plant greenery in the Surkhandarya region in the south of the republic, the press service of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) office in Uzbekistan said on Friday.

According to the press service, representatives of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Uzbekistan and UNDP visited the Surkhandarya region to get acquainted with the results of a joint afforestation project involving citizens of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan.

"The project aims to meet urgent humanitarian needs in the Surkhandarya region, bordering Afghanistan, by engaging Afghan refugees in Uzbekistan and vulnerable populations from host communities in reforestation activities using cash-for-work and other payment mechanisms," the press release of the UNDP representative office says.

According to the press service, 413 Afghan refugees (113 women and 300 men) and 194 local residents were involved in the project. 2.5 thousand trees as well as 287 thousand saxaul bushes were planted.

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