Business
ADB Approves $100 Million Grant to Support Afghanistan’s COVID-19 Response
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday approved a $100 million grant to help the Government of Afghanistan respond to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the statement said.
“ADB reaffirms its full commitment to supporting Afghanistan in its fight against COVID-19 and reducing the adverse impact of the pandemic on the lives of Afghans and the economy,” said ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa. “The assistance will help strengthen the health system, expand social protection for the poor and vulnerable population while ensuring gender mainstreaming, and support macroeconomic stabilization and job creation in Afghanistan.”
Afghanistan’s economic outlook has deteriorated during the COVID-19 pandemic because of business lockdowns, a sharp drop in household incomes, and a downturn in regional trade and remittances. ADB forecasts Afghanistan’s gross domestic product (GDP) to contract by 5.0% this year. Nearly 250,000 micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), accounting for over 80% of nonagricultural employment, have been hit hard. The unemployment rate is projected to rise to 37.9% in 2020 from 23.9% in 2019. The budget deficit including grants has nearly tripled, reaching 3% of GDP in 2020, compared to 2019. Spikes in food prices due to disruptions in the food supply have increased the food insecurity risks.
According to the statement the national poverty rate is projected to reach up to 72% this year from 55% in 2017, with an additional 6 million people falling into poverty. A health emergency of such magnitude has aggravated the pressure on the country’s inadequate health care system, compounded by increasing transmission risks from internally displaced persons, returning migrants, and refugees.
To mitigate the adverse impacts of the pandemic, the government rolled out its comprehensive countercyclical pandemic response package of $633.9 million, comprising health, social protection, and macroeconomic stabilization measures. ADB’s COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support (CARES) Program grant will support the delivery of the government’s response package, read the statement.
The program has several components. It will support the government in conducting a nationwide gender-sensitive public awareness campaign for COVID-19, scaling up the capacity of medical facilities, including gender-sensitive treatment facilities and the availability of medical supplies and equipment.
It will help the government extend its targeted social safety nets, including daily bread assistance to at least 310,000 poor households; water and electricity bill coverage for at least 350,000 households in Kabul, with priority given to women-headed households; coverage of over 130,000 old-age pensioners and their female heirs, including biometric registration; one-time cash transfers of 6,000 afghanis ($78) to at least 41,500 internally displaced persons and refugees; and remuneration packages for at least 32,570 disabled persons and the families of people killed in conflicts.
The program will also support the implementation of stabilization measures covering state-owned enterprises, job creation in the agriculture sector, and MSMEs. The MSME support will comprise tax exemptions, subsidized lending, vocational training, and market access.
The grant also features measures to promote good governance and anticorruption, including having a monitoring and evaluation specialist at the Ministry of Finance (MOF) to support program implementation and reporting, electronic tracking of fund flows at the MOF, and auditing of pandemic-related spending by the Supreme Audit Office, which are built into the assistance. ADB had earlier provided technical assistance to strengthen debt management and monitoring of fiscal risks, as well as project management capacity, procurement systems, and safeguards compliance.
The CARES Program is funded through the COVID-19 pandemic response option (CPRO) under ADB’s Countercyclical Support Facility. CPRO was established as part of ADB’s $20 billion expanded assistance for developing member countries’ COVID-19 response announced in April. Visit ADB’s website to learn more about its ongoing response.
This comes after in May, ADB approved a $40 million emergency assistance grant for Afghanistan. It supports the construction of 15 and rehabilitation of 5 hospitals and medical facilities, adding more than 1,100 new hospital beds; procurement of urgent medicines, medical supplies, and equipment; and training of at least 3,000 health workers, including 900 women, in COVID-19 surveillance, prevention, and treatment.
Business
Afghanistan invites Turkish investors to expand joint investments
Participants stressed the importance of increasing private sector cooperation and creating new opportunities to boost trade and investment between Afghanistan and Türkiye.
A high-level Afghan business delegation, led by the Chairman of the Balkh Chamber of Commerce and Investment, Mohammad Ibrahim Ghazanfar, participated in the Afghanistan–Türkiye Joint Business Council meeting in Istanbul, calling for expanded joint investment and stronger economic cooperation between the two countries.
According to a statement from the Balkh Chamber of Commerce and Investment, Ghazanfar invited Turkish investors and industrialists to explore investment opportunities across various sectors in Afghanistan, emphasizing the country’s potential for mutually beneficial partnerships.
The meeting brought together business leaders, investors, and private sector representatives from both Afghanistan and Türkiye to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral trade and economic ties.
During the event, several cooperation agreements were signed between Afghan and Turkish economic institutions. The agreements are aimed at expanding commercial relations, promoting joint investment projects, and enhancing economic cooperation between the two countries.
The meeting was chaired by Süleyman Güllü, Chairman of the Türkiye–Afghanistan Joint Business Council, and was attended by Mohammad Akbar Azimi, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s Consul General in Istanbul, along with a number of businessmen and investors from both countries.
Participants stressed the importance of increasing private sector cooperation and creating new opportunities to boost trade and investment between Afghanistan and Türkiye.
The Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI) and the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening bilateral trade, investment, and business cooperation between India and Afghanistan.
The agreement was signed in New Delhi by Saurabh Sanyal, Secretary General of ASSOCHAM, and Sayed Mohammad Karim Hashemi, Chairman of ACCI, during a meeting between business leaders from the two countries, ASSOCHAM said in a statement.
The Afghan delegation, led by Hashemi, held discussions with Nirmal Kumar Minda, President of ASSOCHAM, and other officials on ways to expand bilateral trade, investment flows, and private-sector cooperation.
According to ASSOCHAM, the MoU seeks to strengthen institutional collaboration, promote business-to-business linkages, and facilitate greater trade and investment opportunities between India and Afghanistan.
The organization said it remains committed to fostering stronger economic ties and creating new avenues of cooperation between the business communities of both countries.
Kazakhstan has signed a major zinc ore supply agreement with an Afghan company as the two countries continue to expand economic cooperation and trade ties.
According to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Trade and Integration, the contract was signed between Kazakhstan’s ShalkiyaZinc and Afghanistan’s Afghan German Bakhtar Company during the opening of the Kazakhstan Trade House in Kabul.
The signing took place as part of an official business mission led by Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy, Serik Zhumangarin.
Under the agreement, Afghan German Bakhtar Company will supply approximately 30,000 tons of zinc ore annually on DAP (Delivered at Place) terms. The ore will be used as raw material for the production facilities of Kazakhstan’s Kazzinc. The total value of the contract is estimated at $18.88 million.
The deal marks a significant step in diversifying trade relations between Kazakhstan and Afghanistan, moving beyond traditional agricultural exports into the mining and industrial sectors.
“Afghanistan today is a market of opportunities,” said Kanat Kudaibergen, Chairman of the Board of GWM Capital LTD. He noted that while Kazakhstan’s exports to Afghanistan have historically consisted mainly of flour, grain, sunflower oil, and other agricultural products, demand is increasingly growing for machinery, equipment, and service solutions in agriculture, construction, and mining.
Kudaibergen expressed confidence that the newly established Trade House in Kabul would serve as an important platform for developing new business projects and expanding Kazakhstan’s non-resource exports.
The agreement follows recent discussions between Kazakh officials and Afghanistan’s leadership, including Prime Minister Mohammad Hasan Akhund and Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Ghani Baradar, during which Kazakhstan expressed interest in sourcing zinc ore from Afghanistan.
Preparations for the deal began last year when specialists from Tau-Ken Samruk visited Afghanistan’s Bamyan province to assess the Pami-Kakrak zinc deposit. Samples collected during the visit were later analyzed by Kazzinc, which confirmed the feasibility of processing the ore at Kazakh facilities.
Economic relations between the two countries have been steadily strengthening. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of National Economy reported that bilateral trade reached $541.8 million in 2025. Both governments have set an ambitious target of increasing annual trade turnover to $3 billion in the coming years.
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