Business
Central bank governor says international reserves have not been compromised
Ajmal Ahmady, Afghanistan’s central bank governor and former minister of industry and commerce, posted a series of tweets on Wednesday stating he wanted to “clarify the location of DAB (Central Bank of Afghanistan) international reserves.”
He said that DAB reserves were approximately $9.0 billion as of last week but that “this does not mean that DAB held $9.0 billion physically in our vault.”
He said as per international standards, most assets are held in safe, liquid assets such as Treasuries and gold.
He said that DAB was set to receive approximately $340 million on August 23rd from the International Monetary Fund.
“Not sure if that allocation will now proceed with respect to Afghanistan,” he said.
Given Afghanistan’s large current account deficit, DAB was reliant on obtaining physical shipments of cash every few weeks, he said.
“The amount of such cash remaining is close to zero due to a stoppage of shipments as the security situation deteriorated, especially during the last few days,” he said.
“On Friday morning, I received a call notifying me that there would be no further USD (US Dollar) shipments,” Ahmady said, adding they were expecting one on Sunday, the day the Taliban took control of Kabul, but that this shipment did not arrive.
Ahmady said that on Saturday, banks placed very large USD bids as customer withdrawals accelerated.
“For the first time, I therefore had to limit USD access to both banks and dollar auctions to conserve remaining DAB dollars.
“We also put out a circular placing maximum withdrawal limits per customer,” he said.
He assured Afghans that in no way were Afghanistan’s international reserves ever compromised.
“We had a program with both the IMF and Treasury that monitored assets. No money was stolen from any reserve account,” he said.
However, he stated that given that the Taliban are still on international sanction lists, it is expected that such assets will be frozen and not accessible to Taliban.
“I believe local banks have told customers that they cannot return their dollars – because DAB has not supplied banks with dollars.
“This is true. Not because funds have been stolen or being held in a vault, but because all dollars are in international accounts that have been frozen,” he said.
“Taliban should note this was in no way the decision of DAB or its professional staff. It is a direct result of the US sanctions policy implemented by OFAC (the American Office of Foreign Assets Control),” he said.
In conclusion, Ahmady suggested the Taliban implement capital controls and limit dollar access.
Business
Imam Abu Hanifa exhibition to draw exhibitors from more than 20 countries
Representatives from more than 20 countries are expected to attend, including Russia, India, Türkiye and Japan.
The fifth Imam Abu Hanifa National and International Exhibition will be held in Kabul from October 7 to 13, the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI) says.
Representatives from more than 20 countries are expected to attend, including Russia, India, Türkiye and Japan.
Ahmad Shakil Hazim, ACCI’s Deputy for Policy and Technical Affairs, said the exhibition would give traders, investors and producers an opportunity to showcase their products and expand business ties with international markets.
Economic experts say international trade exhibitions can strengthen commercial relations between Afghan and foreign businesses and help attract investment.
The fourth edition of the exhibition was held in Kabul last year, with officials saying trade agreements and contracts worth more than $700 million were signed between Afghan and foreign traders on the sidelines of the event.
Business
Afghanistan, Russia discuss expanding trade cooperation
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce said the two sides described the meeting as productive and stressed the need to further expand economic and trade relations between Afghanistan and Russia.
Afghanistan and Russia have discussed ways to expand economic and trade cooperation, including increasing exports of Afghan products to Russia and importing Russian machinery and technology into Afghanistan.
Afghanistan’s Minister of Industry and Commerce Nooruddin Azizi met with Nikita Kornienko, Minister of International and Interregional Cooperation of Russia’s Chelyabinsk Region, and his delegation, according to the ministry.
The talks focused on strengthening economic ties, improving coordination between traders from both sides, expanding exports of Afghan goods to Chelyabinsk, importing Russian machinery and modern technologies, and enhancing banking cooperation.
Azizi highlighted the need to increase Afghan exports to Russia and said Afghanistan was ready to establish a distribution centre for Russian goods in Afghanistan and a market for Afghan products in Chelyabinsk.
Kornienko welcomed greater trade cooperation with Afghanistan and invited a delegation from the Islamic Emirate, including private-sector representatives, to visit Chelyabinsk to help strengthen coordination between traders from both sides.
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce said the two sides described the meeting as productive and stressed the need to further expand economic and trade relations between Afghanistan and Russia.
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce says 20 trade memorandums of understanding (MoUs) worth $267 million have been signed following business meetings between Afghan traders and private-sector representatives and officials from Uzbekistan’s Kashkadarya province.
The agreements were signed on the sidelines of a business networking conference between Afghan private-sector representatives and Kashkadarya in Kabul. Officials from Afghanistan’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce, representatives of Kashkadarya province, Uzbekistan’s ambassador to Kabul, and private-sector representatives from both countries attended the conference.
Ahmadullah Zahid, Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, said economic relations and trade between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan have increased following visits by delegations from both sides.
He stressed the need to simplify trade and transit procedures and remove existing obstacles. He also said Afghanistan is ready to discuss the transit of its export goods through Uzbekistan.
Shahret Muradov, Deputy Governor of Kashkadarya, said the province is ready to expand trade and industrial cooperation with Afghanistan and host Afghan delegations and traders.
The agreements cover sectors including food products, clothing, construction, livestock, electronic equipment, and furniture.
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