Business
Hundreds of factories face uncertain future amid ongoing economic crisis
Afghan businessmen on Thursday warned that hundreds of factories will be forced to close down if the US and the international community continue to impose economic sanctions against Afghanistan.
These sanctions include the freezing of over $9 billion in foreign reserves, by the US Treasury and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), four months ago.
Businessmen said their biggest problem is their inability to buy raw materials.
“We can’t tolerate the situation; the world is being cruel to Afghans. We will lodge complaints to the UN for our rights to be upheld,” said Sherbaz Kaminzada, head of the Chamber of Mines and Industries.
Businessmen also said that of the $9 billion in frozen foreign reserves, $2,5 billion of that is private sector money. They also blamed the international community for the current crisis in Afghanistan.
“We and the people of Afghanistan know who created problems, and want them to resolve the problems themselves,” said Sakhi Ahmad Paiman, deputy head of the Chamber of Mines and Industries.
Officials from logistics companies said that national and international organizations owe the sector billions of dollars.
“We served Afghanistan and provided services, our payments are outstanding because foreign reserves have been frozen. We hope that the money will be released soon,” said one logistics company employee, Mohammad Baz Ghairat.
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) officials said the international community is to blame for the economic crisis in the country.
“We called on the international community many times, but they have blocked Afghanistan’s assets; Afghans need it now,” said Inamullah Samangani, deputy spokesman for the IEA, adding that they are being blamed for something the US created.
Economic analysts on the other hand said that the US should release Afghanistan’s assets and provide opportunities for Afghan businessmen.
“We see problems growing day by day, the international community is the cause of this. They imposed sanctions against Afghanistan’s economic mechanism; they are responsible,” said Sayed Azim Mangal, an analyst.
Businessmen said if the sanctions are not lifted soon, they will appeal to the international courts to resolve the problem.
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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