MRRD Deputy Minister for Programmes

Mr. Mohammad Tariq Ismati

Age: 32 years old

Education: Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA), Preston University, Pakistan

Master of Science and Administration (MSA), International Development Program, Andrews University, Michigan, USA

Work experience: 10 years

Mohammad Tariq Ismati was born in Kandahar, Afghanistan in 1979. After attending primary and secondary schools in Kabul, then graduating from high school in Kandahar, Mr Ismati worked with a number of non-governmental organisations and UN agencies in the province. In 2004 he was appointed National Programme Officer for the UN Development Programme’s Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration programme for southern Afghanistan, developing a strong interest in reintegration and community development.

In 2006 he was appointed regional manager of the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) for its National Area-Based Development Programme (NABDP) in Kandahar..

That year, following the NATO-led Operation Medusa in the Zhare and Panjwaie districts in the province, Mr Ismati was chosen to lead person to create a mechanism to rebuild trust between local communities and the Afghan Government by responding rapidly to villagers’ development priorities, and to build community capacity to identify and lead their own development. This mechanism, the ‘Kandahar Model’ is now widely used as a rapid response development approach.

In 2008, Mr Ismati became NABDP’s Chief of Operations in Kabul and the following year joined the National Solidarity Programme (NSP) as Executive Director. Under his leadership, NSP strategic planning has resulted in the successful completion of phases I and II and third phase was designed and approved which will be implemented over five years with a budget of 1.5 billion dollars. NSP has covered 75% of rural Afghanistan and NSP III will roll out to the entire country.

In December 2012, he was appointed Deputy Minister for Programmes, in charge of the strategic direction and delivery of MRRD-led or partnered programmes, leading on programme-related multilateral and bilateral donor relationships, and responsible for the policy, strategic development and implementation of the Ministry’s engagement on Disaster Risk Reduction and humanitarian interventions.

Mr. Ismati has participated in many national and international conferences and workshops. He was an active participant in the ministerial clustering process that formed the basis for the Kabul Conference in June 2010, in which NSP was identified as a successful bankable programme. He participated in NATO summits in Riga in 2006 and 2008 and in the 54th General Assembly of the Atlantic Treaty Association (ATA) in Berlin in 2008. In 2009 he was an invited guest speaker at the ATA 55th General Assembly in Kiev. In 2010, Mr Ismati participated as an expert presenter in The Hague and Amsterdam in discussions on The Transformation of the Rural Sector and Globalisation.

Mr. Ismati graduated from Preston University, Pakistan, with an Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) degree, specialising in General Management. He is a board member of the International Development Program (IDP) at Andrews University, Michigan, USA, where he is currently pursuing his second Master’s degree (Master of Science and Administration, MSA).

Mr. Ismati is married with two children, lives in Kabul, and speaks Dari, Pashto and English.