The Ministry of Economy has called on the United States to release Afghanistan’s frozen assets and return the funds to the country’s central bank.
Abdul Latif Nazari, the Deputy Minister of Economy, also urged the international community and other countries to lift banking sanctions and restrictions against Afghanistan and for continued humanitarian and developmental aid to help rebuild the country’s infrastructure.
Afghanistan has been experiencing an economic crisis for more than three and a half years, with many citizens facing dire financial conditions. This crisis is largely attributed to the freezing of Afghanistan’s central bank assets by the U.S. and the international community’s banking sanctions on the country.
While criticizing the continuation of these pressures, calls on the U.S. to release Afghanistan’s frozen assets and hand them over to the country’s central bank have continued to be made.
Abdul Latif Nazari, the Deputy Minister of Economy, also emphasized the importance of rebuilding Afghanistan’s infrastructure and urged the international community to support Afghanistan through sustained humanitarian and developmental assistance.
Meanwhile, experts believe that if Afghanistan’s assets are released and economic and banking sanctions are lifted, it could help the country emerge from its economic crisis and improve its financial situation.
This comes after the Islamic Emirate took power in Afghanistan, prompting the United States to freeze more than $9.5 billion of the country’s central bank reserves. However, in 2022, $3.5 billion of these funds were transferred to a trust fund in Switzerland to be used for Afghanistan’s economic aid. Currently, another $3.5 billion remains frozen in U.S. banks, while over $2 billion is held in banks in Europe and the United Arab Emirates.
