 A special inauguration ceremony was held in June 2013, which was attended by German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, Afghanistan's Transport and Aviation Minister Daoud Ali Najafi, Balkh's Governor Atta Muhammad Nur and some parliamentarians.After the inauguration, the airport was named Maulana Jalaluddin Balkhi International Airport.The expansion of the airport was a joint venture of Germany and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which cost 60 million euros and took about three years to complete.