Business
Parliament approves fiscal year’s budget, Ghani praises the move
The Afghan parliament on Monday approved the current fiscal year’s budget with the majority of votes after weeks of tensions between the two-state branches over the document.
Following the national fiscal year budget approval the Presidential Palace issued a statement saying that President Ghani thanked members of the House of Representatives for approving the budget for the 1400 solar fiscal year.
“The President praised the decision, approving the national budget for the solar year 1400 in the national interest, and called it important for the timely implementation of the basic plans and programs of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, especially development projects throughout the country,” read the statement.
“Increasing the salaries of employees, accommodating development projects, the relative balance of money in special codes, reducing unnecessary spending, preventing the loss of people’s money are important chapters of this success,” said Mir Rahman Rahmani, speaker of the house.
The fiscal year began on December 21, 2020, and the parliament rejected the budget draft twice.
On Sunday, lawmakers and the Finance Ministry officials agreed on almost all 19 disputed points, but they still have yet to agree on the allocation of the budget for the High Council for National Reconciliation as well as over the reduction in the number of development projects, MPs said.
Both sides also disagreed on a 15 million AFN allocation for the Afghanistan Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority, but the issue was solved when the fund was removed from the third budget draft, according to lawmakers.
In the third and latest draft, 105 million AFN ($1.3 million) have been shifted to the regular budget from the development budget.
Meanwhile, MPs did not approve the budget for a number of departments that did not receive a vote by the parliament, such as the High Council for National Reconciliation, and placed the budget of the Council under the budget of the Presidential administration office.
Some MPs still believe that no changes have been brought in the budget and that “everything (recent disputes) was just a show and was for personal interests.”
The estimated budget for the fiscal year 1400 is over 473 billion AFN (nearly $6 billion), including 311 billion AFN ($4 billion) for the regular budget and 162 billion AFN ($2 billion) for the development budget.
Deputy Prime Minister for Administrative Affairs Abdul Salam Hanafi says Afghanistan has the potential to become one of the most important industrial centers in the region.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the national and international expo on the occasion of Industry Week, Hanafi said that the growth of industry lays the foundation for the growth of other economic sectors and that the Islamic Emirate fully supports domestic production in the country.
“Afghanistan has important and rich factors for industrial production, which can become one of the important industrial centers in the region. The growth of industry will be the basis for the growth of other economic sectors, especially agriculture,” said Hanafi.
Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce, Nooruddin Azizi, added that the IEA has programs in the fields of industry development and support for the private sector that will make Afghanistan self-sufficient.
Azizi stated that Afghanistan’s industrial sector is currently progressing and the quality of export goods has also improved.
Some investors said at the ceremony that after the return of the IEA, the country’s exports have increased and the number of manufacturing companies has also increased.
This expo is open to visitors for seven days, and industrial products are showcased in 450 booths.
Women in business also attended the meeting.
Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed on the issuance of a temporary admission document for transporters of commercial goods, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Transport and Aviation announced on Sunday.
The ministry said in an announcement that truck drivers and their assistants carrying commercial goods from Afghanistan and Pakistan must have this document with them at the crossings.
Based on the announcement, the document will be issued to Afghans at the Pakistani embassy in Kabul and its consulate in Kandahar.
For Pakistanis, the document is distributed at the office of the Afghanistan transport attaché in Peshawar and Quetta.
The Ministry of Transportation and Aviation asked owners and drivers of trucks to submit the required documents to their respective transportation companies by June 1.
The ministry warned that after June 1, trucks cannot travel between the two countries without having the temporary admission document.
Pakistani officials have announced that consultations are underway with stakeholders on preferential trade agreements with Afghanistan and Azerbaijan.
According to Dawn newspaper, the issue was announced on Friday in a meeting on trade chaired by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
In the meeting, the strict monitoring of Afghan Transit Trade was also emphasized.
Pakistani officials have not provided further details on preferential trade with Afghanistan and Azerbaijan.
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