Business

Cash-strapped government puts new projects on hold

Published

3 years ago

August 1, 2021

(Last Updated On: August 1, 2021)

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) has informed all government departments they need to cut back on budget spend, including that on planned development projects.

In an official notice to all government institutions, MoF has ordered them to stop projects where contracts have recently been signed, and which employ contract workers.

All planned development projects have also been put on hold.

The MoF said that due to the increase in spend for the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF), the increase in health spend and a drop in government income, all government departments need to cut expenditure.

“After the assessment of the development and general budgets by the cabinet, changes have been brought to the ministries and all government budgets because of the increase in ANDSF and health spending. Contracts from the… budget should be halted or suspended,” read the notice.

The MoF said that the government has lost $33 million in customs revenue since the Taliban seized five border crossings in the past month, amid rising violence in the country.

“Sher Khan port in Kunduz, Spin Boldak in Kandahar, Islam Qala in Herat, Abu Nasr Farahi in Farah and Torghundi in Herat have been captured by Taliban in the past month,“said Rafi Tabi, spokesman for the MoF.

Analysts have said the government should consider other steps to cut back on budget spend.

“In this situation, we can’t blame government, but it (government) should consider other options to prevent confusing the public,” said Sayed Massoud, a university lecturer.

This comes after the projected revenue generation for Afghanistan was expected to be 216 billion AFN ($2.7 billion) for the current solar year.

The total 452.6 billion AFN budget for this year did however carry a 37 billion AFN deficit – which government was to provide 20 billion AFN from internal resources and 17 billion AFN was pledged by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in order to make up the difference.

Business

Azizi calls on Malaysian investors to invest in Afghanistan

Published

2 days ago

April 24, 2024

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: April 24, 2024)

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.

Business

Afghanistan starts exporting via railway to Turkey

Published

4 days ago

April 22, 2024

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: April 22, 2024)

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.

Business

Afghanistan, Kazakhstan to hold joint expo in Kabul

Published

5 days ago

April 21, 2024

Ariana News

(Last Updated On: April 21, 2024)

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.