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Afghanistan wins approval to join WTO
Afghanistan has won formal approval to join the World Trade Organisation in a move the U.S.-backed government hopes will help lift its war-shattered economy and create jobs in one of the world’s poorest countries.
Afghanistan has until June 30 to ratify the agreement, the final step before becoming a full member of the organization that underpins the global system of international trade.
“Trade-led growth will create new economic opportunities and jobs, especially for women; it will reduce poverty, and increase prosperity,” said Afghanistan’s Deputy Chief Executive Mohammad Khan Rahmani, in a speech at a WTO meeting in Nairobi where the agreement was passed.
“It will certainly contribute in a major way to dramatically reduce extremism and achieve regional peace and security,” he said.
Coming after the launch of the TAPI gas pipeline linking Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, the WTO deal is the second big economic agreement for the government this week but the obstacles to growth remain daunting.
Decades of war have destroyed much of Afghanistan’s basic infrastructure and fostered a climate of insecurity and corruption that has put investors to flight and forced millions of Afghans to become refugees.
Once a major horticultural exporter that accounted for 10 percent of the world’s dried fruit market in the 1970s, Afghanistan’s import-dependent economy, kept afloat by billions of dollars in foreign aid, is among the world’s least developed.
The World Bank’s 2015 Doing Business report, which measures how easy it is for companies to operate, puts it at 183 out of 189 countries and growth last year was just 1.3 percent, far too slow to provide enough jobs for its fast-growing population.
Aid donors are putting much effort into re-establishing the agricultural sector and developing products like almonds, raisins and pistachios as well as traditional export pillars such as woolen carpets.
The government has also pledged an ambitious series of reforms to revive the economy, fight corruption and attract investment.
But the World Bank warned in a report from October that the government’s reform efforts would take time to have an impact and it was still unclear whether they would mitigate the worsening security climate.
(Reuters)
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araqchi said on Sunday that the security, stability and prosperity of Afghanistan are directly linked to the interests of its neighbouring countries, stressing that regional cooperation is essential for lasting peace and development.
Speaking at a regional meeting on Afghanistan in Tehran, Araghchi said no extra-regional or imposed solutions can resolve Afghanistan’s challenges, arguing that neighbouring states are the most natural and reliable partners in addressing regional crises. He said Iran has consistently emphasized the central role of neighbours in all initiatives related to Afghanistan.
Highlighting Afghanistan’s geo-economic position at the crossroads of Central, West and South Asia, Araghchi said the country’s stability and development are not only a humanitarian necessity but also a strategic requirement for the entire region.
He noted that Iran, as a long-standing neighbour and close partner of the Afghan people, supports Afghanistan’s full regional integration. Araghchi added that the failure of security-centric and externally imposed approaches, including NATO’s two-decade military presence and the hasty U.S. withdrawal in 2021, demonstrated the limits of outside intervention.
The Iranian foreign minister called for regular dialogue mechanisms among Afghanistan’s neighbours to prevent misunderstandings, improve coordination on economic, border and humanitarian issues, reduce tensions and strengthen regional cooperation.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s special envoy for Afghanistan, Mohammad Sadiq, said Islamabad’s concerns over terrorism must be addressed resolutely, adding that Pakistan supports peace, development and security across the region.
Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid, Minister of Defense of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has emphasized the importance of acquiring both religious and contemporary knowledge.
Speaking at a madrasa graduation ceremony in Kandahar province, he urged communities to support schools and education, stating: “Do not let your children remain uneducated. Pursue all forms of knowledge, both modern and religious.”
He added that the Islamic Emirate is committed to serving the people, with some forces protecting the borders and others safeguarding lives and property.
Separately, in a voice message to a separate ceremony in Khost, Mullah Tajmir Jawad, First Deputy of the General Directorate of Intelligence, highlighted Afghanistan’s historical role as a center of religious and scholarly learning, influenced by the Transoxiana and Deoband schools of thought.
He noted that today, Afghanistan has tens of thousands of active madrassas, educating a large number of youth, and that the Islamic Emirate gives special attention to both religious and modern sciences.
He said that the Islamic Emirate is also focused on reforming madrasa curricula, improving teaching methods, maintaining discipline, and raising the overall quality of education.
The United States has delivered a second batch of UH-60A+ Black Hawk helicopters—previously operated by Afghanistan’s former government forces—to Peru.
The helicopters were part of military equipment relocated to Uzbekistan following the Islamic Emirate’s takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, when 22 fixed-wing aircraft and 24 helicopters crossed into Uzbek airspace.
The Islamic Emirate has repeatedly demanded the return of the aircraft, but Uzbekistan has declined, maintaining that the equipment does not belong to Afghanistan. In February 2025, Uzbekistan transferred seven Afghan Black Hawk helicopters to the United States.
In November 2024, the United States presented Peru with the first batch of nine Sikorsky UH-60A+ Black Hawk multi-role helicopters.
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