Business
IEA tightens currency controls after dollar smuggling report
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) imposed fresh restrictions on people carrying foreign currency out of Afghanistan, in a rare directive from the prime minister’s office.
The restrictions were imposed after a report published in Bloomberg stated that millions of dollars were being smuggled into the country each day from Pakistan.
Tuesday’s order from Mullah Mohammad Hassan’s office spelled out new currency limits clearly for the first time and laid out new punishments — up to a year in prison. While a $5,000 limit was already in place, the new edict added that the amount people could take out via road border crossings was now only $500 and barred the transport of gold or precious stones out of the nation.
“If someone transfers a million dollars, he will be imprisoned for a year, and for one hundred thousand dollars, he will be jailed for a month and for less than the amount, he will receive ten days in jail,” the edict said.
The IEA also reiterated that bringing in foreign currency is “prohibited,” without specifying how much and under what circumstances. Before the report’s publication, the Afghan Finance Ministry had said that it encourages individuals to bring in any value of foreign currency.
Bloomberg reported Tuesday that traders or smugglers are bringing as much as $5 million into Afghanistan from Pakistan every day, which was providing some support for the country’s squeezed economy after the US and Europe denied the IEA access to more than $9 billion in foreign reserves.
However, the illicit dollar inflow into the country is exacerbating a rapidly developing economic crisis in neighboring Pakistan.
Economic experts consider this work of the Islamic Emirate to be important for maintaining the financial stability and value of the afghani currency, and they say that governments have an obligation to support their currency value.
Nooruddin Azizi, Acting Minister of Commerce and Industry, met with representatives from the ministries of foreign affairs, defense and interior of Malaysia, along with other senior officials, on Wednesday and called on Malaysians to invest in Afghanistan.
The visiting delegation is being led by senior diplomat Dr. Shazelina Zainul Abidin.
According to the IEA’s foreign ministry, the two sides discussed bilateral trade, holding a business communication conference to strengthen trade relations between the two countries, the trade balance between Afghanistan and Malaysia, and creating a market for Afghan products, including carpets, cotton, and minerals.
According to the ministry, at the end of the meeting, the Acting Minister emphasized the increase of investment from regional countries in Afghanistan and called on Malaysian investors to also invest in Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Interior says that Afghanistan has started exporting goods to Turkey via the Herat-Khaf railway line.
In a post on X, the ministry said: “Afghanistan’s exports to Turkey started in a calm atmosphere through the Herat-Khaf railway line.”
The ministry added that one train will run daily for a month and then two trains will run daily.
According to the ministry, the security of Khaf-Herat railway line is provided by the guards of the National Public Protection Agency.
Khaf-Herat railway project not only connects Iran and Afghanistan by rail, but also completes a 2,000-kilometer route along the east-west rail corridor from China, through Uzbekistan, to Afghanistan, to Iran, and on to Turkey and Europe.
As a landlocked country, this railway network will provide a safe route to connect with Europe via Iran’s railway network and Iran’s southern ports.
This railway line is strategic for trade between Iran and Afghanistan and will allow six million tons of goods to be sent between the two countries.
A joint expo between Afghanistan and Kazakhstan will be held in Kabul in the next four days, officials said on Sunday.
Officials of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce said that the two-day expo will be held for the purpose of expanding and strengthening trade relations between the two countries.
“This expo will be held as a follow-up of the Kazakh-Afghan international expo, which was held in the city of Astana, Kazakhstan, with the participation of a large delegation of the government and the private sector of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” Abdulsalam Javad Akhundzadeh, the spokesman of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, said.
“At this expo, domestic products from different sectors of Afghanistan and the Republic of Kazakhstan will be put on display for two days.”
According to officials, 40 large Kazakh companies, and 40 large Afghan companies will exhibit their products.
Mohammad Saber Latifi, head of the Afghanistan International Expo Center, said that fruits, minerals and commercial services will be displayed at the expo.
During the expo, various memorandums of understanding for the trade of goods are also expected to be signed by companies.
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