Shah Mohammad Mehrabi, Central Bank supreme council member and board member of the Afghan Trust Fund in Switzerland, said that the $3.5 billion fund–including $36 million and $34 million in interest–should be used for achieving monetary stability and reducing volatility in the Afghan currency exchange.
“During the meeting, the board took decisive actions to further operationalize the Afghan fund with a focus on protecting and preserving its assets on behalf of the Afghan people. The board agreed to seek external funding to cover the Afghan fund’s operational expenses. At the same time, they decided to allocate a specific portion of the fund’s annual interest earning towards essential operational costs,” he said.
The Ministry of Economy, Abdul Latif Nazari, said that the freezing of the Afghan assets has affected the country’s economy.
“The freezing of the Afghan assets in foreign banks inflicts various types of impacts on the improvement and development of the Afghan economy. We demand that these assets and its interests be handed over to the Islamic Emirate,” he said.
Economists said that the interests of the Afghan assets should be used to stabilize the afghani currency and international debts.
“The assets and its interests are used for monetary stability and price management and also for the payment of international debts,” said Meer Shikib Meer, an economist.
“This money is going to help the government or rulers of Afghanistan indirectly. One of the goals is to help with the humanitarian issues and payment of expenses,” said Sayed Masoud, an economist.
The Afghan trust fund was established in September 14th of 2022 and is intended to preserve and manage the $3.5 billion Afghan assets in Switzerland.
