WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Stephen F. Lynch, a senior member of the House Subcommittee on National Security, is on a bipartisan congressional delegation this week in Afghanistan that also includes stops in Ukraine and Israel. The delegation is being led by Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Senator Joe Donnelly (D-IN), both members of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The purpose of the delegation is to conduct official discussions with high-ranking government leaders regarding political, economic, military and security issues affecting bilateral and regional relationships in Afghanistan, Israel and Ukraine. As a co-chair of the House Task Force on Terrorism and Proliferation Financing, Congressman Lynch will also review the state of Afghanistan’s banking reform in the wake of the collapse of Kabul Bank in 2010. Similarly, Lynch will try to assess the progress of ongoing international efforts to recover billions of dollars in missing Ukrainian funds that were misappropriated by former Ukrainian government officials.

In Afghanistan, Congressman Lynch met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and members of the Afghan Wolsei Jirga, Massachusetts Soldiers and Marines, and State Department officials. The delegation also included meetings with General Joseph Dunford, the current commander of all U.S. and international forces in Afghanistan and a native of South Boston and Quincy, and James Cunningham, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan. The visit to Afghanistan comes as the continued drawdown of American military forces and the transition of security responsibility to the Afghan security forces moves forward and preparations for the April 5th presidential election are underway.