Afghanistan central bank ‘Da Afghanistan Bank’ says talks on releasing Afghanistan foreign assets are underway with relevant countries.
Based on media reports, U.S. will press ahead with talks on releasing billions of dollars in Afghanistan’s foreign-held assets. The decision to pursue the initiative to help stabilize Afghanistan’s collapsed economy underscores growing concern in Washington over a humanitarian crisis.
According to officials of the Afghanistan central bank, talks on releasing the country’s foreign-held assets are underway.
“We’re in talks on releasing the country’s foreign-held assets with three relevant countries. It’s necessary as the assets belong to the people of Afghanistan. We’re asking them to release the Afghan’s foreign assets,” said a spokesperson for Afghanistan central bank.
Foreign exchange reserves or international reserves are the reserves which are kept by a country’s central bank. These reserves can be a combination of gold and international currencies such as the dollar and the euro.
Central banks keep reserves for a variety of reasons, including paying foreign currency debts, maintaining the foreign exchange needs of importers of goods and services, preserving the value of the national currency, managing the exchange rate, supporting the liquidity of the banking sector, and maintaining other valuable needs.
Most countries and international organizations have recently asked the U.S. to release Afghanistan foreign assets so that the country can handle the economic worst situation.
UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan Ramiz Alakbarov has recently made a pitch for the immediate release of the $7 billion Afghan central bank’s asset.
“We need to have these assets returned to Afghanistan. I know that there are negotiations which are going on about those returns,” Alakbarov said.
Stressing the need for flexibility on both sides, Alakbarov explained the world body was not involved in the negotiations on the return of the funds to the war-hit country.
However, considering the current economic situation in Afghanistan and the beginning of a humanitarian disaster, providing financial and humanitarian aid to the people of Afghanistan is undoubtedly a vital matter.
Afghanistan’s economic and humanitarian crises deepened when Washington and other donors halted aid that funded 70 percent of the government budget following the Islamic Emirate (IEA) takeover of the country on 15 August 2021.
It is worth mentioning that Washington also stopped flying in hard currency, effectively paralyzing Afghanistan’s banking system, and froze $7 billion in Afghan assets in the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
In February, Biden ordered half of the sum set aside for the benefit of the Afghan people. Other countries hold some $2 billion of Afghan reserves.
Zarabi
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