Business
U.S. has no plans to release billions in Afghan assets: Reuters
The Biden administration has no plans to release billions in Afghan gold, investments and foreign currency reserves parked in the United States that it froze after the Taliban’s takeover, despite pressure from humanitarian groups and others who say the cost may be the collapse of Afghanistan’s economy.
Much of the Afghan central bank’s $10 billion in assets are parked overseas here, where they are considered a key instrument for the West to pressure the Taliban here to respect women’s rights and the rule of law.
Any unfreezing of these assets may be months away, financial experts said.
Officials from the U.S. State Department, U.S. Treasury, White House National Security Council and other agencies have been in regular discussions about Afghanistan’s finances since the Taliban took over in mid-August, ahead of what the United Nations and others see as a looming humanitarian crisis.
Any decision to release the funds would likely involve top U.S. officials from several departments but will ultimately be up to President Joe Biden, the experts said.
Food and fuel prices are soaring across Afghanistan, amid a shortage of cash triggered by a halt in foreign aid, a halt in dollar shipments and a drought.
The U.S. Treasury this week said it had granted a license here authorizing the U.S. government and its partners to continue to facilitate humanitarian aid in Afghanistan. It also gave Western Union, the world’s largest money transfer firm, and other financial institutions a green light to resume processing here personal remittances to Afghanistan from migrants overseas.
The Treasury Department is not easing sanctions on the Taliban or loosening restrictions on their access to the global financial system, a spokesperson told Reuters.
“The United States government has been in touch with humanitarian partners in Afghanistan, both regarding security conditions on the ground and about their ability to continue their humanitarian work,” the spokesperson said.
“As we maintain our commitment to the Afghan people, we have not reduced sanctions pressure on Taliban leaders or the significant restrictions on their access to the international financial system.”
Shah Mehrabi, an economics professor in Maryland and long-time member of the Afghan central bank’s board, a senior Russian official and humanitarian groups are among those urging the U.S. Treasury to also unfreeze the Afghan assets, saying that lives are at stake.
“The gravity of the situation is so immense. Every day that passes is going to result in more suffering and more exodus of people,” Mehrabi said.
The International Monetary Fund has also blocked the Taliban from accessing some $440 million in new emergency reserves, or Special Drawing Rights, issued by the global lender last month.
Adnan Mazarei, former deputy director of the IMF and now a fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said the United States could not legally release the Afghan assets until there was an internationally recognized government, and that could take many months to occur. The IMF could not act until its board voted, once a government was recognized.
He said a central bank’s reserves are typically not touched except as a last resort. Even Iran, struggling under intense international sanctions, has not used its IMF emergency reserves, he said.
Brian O’Toole, a former Treasury Department official now with the Atlantic Council, said a release of the Afghan assets would not solve Afghanistan’s considerable problems.
“Just releasing those funds doesn’t stabilize the Afghan economy, or do anything like that. What it does is give the Taliban access” to billions of dollars, he said. “I don’t think there’s gonna be a lot of appetite in the U.S. to do that, nor should there be.”
Business
Afghanistan invites Turkish investors to expand joint investments
Participants stressed the importance of increasing private sector cooperation and creating new opportunities to boost trade and investment between Afghanistan and Türkiye.
A high-level Afghan business delegation, led by the Chairman of the Balkh Chamber of Commerce and Investment, Mohammad Ibrahim Ghazanfar, participated in the Afghanistan–Türkiye Joint Business Council meeting in Istanbul, calling for expanded joint investment and stronger economic cooperation between the two countries.
According to a statement from the Balkh Chamber of Commerce and Investment, Ghazanfar invited Turkish investors and industrialists to explore investment opportunities across various sectors in Afghanistan, emphasizing the country’s potential for mutually beneficial partnerships.
The meeting brought together business leaders, investors, and private sector representatives from both Afghanistan and Türkiye to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral trade and economic ties.
During the event, several cooperation agreements were signed between Afghan and Turkish economic institutions. The agreements are aimed at expanding commercial relations, promoting joint investment projects, and enhancing economic cooperation between the two countries.
The meeting was chaired by Süleyman Güllü, Chairman of the Türkiye–Afghanistan Joint Business Council, and was attended by Mohammad Akbar Azimi, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s Consul General in Istanbul, along with a number of businessmen and investors from both countries.
Participants stressed the importance of increasing private sector cooperation and creating new opportunities to boost trade and investment between Afghanistan and Türkiye.
The Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI) and the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening bilateral trade, investment, and business cooperation between India and Afghanistan.
The agreement was signed in New Delhi by Saurabh Sanyal, Secretary General of ASSOCHAM, and Sayed Mohammad Karim Hashemi, Chairman of ACCI, during a meeting between business leaders from the two countries, ASSOCHAM said in a statement.
The Afghan delegation, led by Hashemi, held discussions with Nirmal Kumar Minda, President of ASSOCHAM, and other officials on ways to expand bilateral trade, investment flows, and private-sector cooperation.
According to ASSOCHAM, the MoU seeks to strengthen institutional collaboration, promote business-to-business linkages, and facilitate greater trade and investment opportunities between India and Afghanistan.
The organization said it remains committed to fostering stronger economic ties and creating new avenues of cooperation between the business communities of both countries.
Kazakhstan has signed a major zinc ore supply agreement with an Afghan company as the two countries continue to expand economic cooperation and trade ties.
According to Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Trade and Integration, the contract was signed between Kazakhstan’s ShalkiyaZinc and Afghanistan’s Afghan German Bakhtar Company during the opening of the Kazakhstan Trade House in Kabul.
The signing took place as part of an official business mission led by Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy, Serik Zhumangarin.
Under the agreement, Afghan German Bakhtar Company will supply approximately 30,000 tons of zinc ore annually on DAP (Delivered at Place) terms. The ore will be used as raw material for the production facilities of Kazakhstan’s Kazzinc. The total value of the contract is estimated at $18.88 million.
The deal marks a significant step in diversifying trade relations between Kazakhstan and Afghanistan, moving beyond traditional agricultural exports into the mining and industrial sectors.
“Afghanistan today is a market of opportunities,” said Kanat Kudaibergen, Chairman of the Board of GWM Capital LTD. He noted that while Kazakhstan’s exports to Afghanistan have historically consisted mainly of flour, grain, sunflower oil, and other agricultural products, demand is increasingly growing for machinery, equipment, and service solutions in agriculture, construction, and mining.
Kudaibergen expressed confidence that the newly established Trade House in Kabul would serve as an important platform for developing new business projects and expanding Kazakhstan’s non-resource exports.
The agreement follows recent discussions between Kazakh officials and Afghanistan’s leadership, including Prime Minister Mohammad Hasan Akhund and Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Ghani Baradar, during which Kazakhstan expressed interest in sourcing zinc ore from Afghanistan.
Preparations for the deal began last year when specialists from Tau-Ken Samruk visited Afghanistan’s Bamyan province to assess the Pami-Kakrak zinc deposit. Samples collected during the visit were later analyzed by Kazzinc, which confirmed the feasibility of processing the ore at Kazakh facilities.
Economic relations between the two countries have been steadily strengthening. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of National Economy reported that bilateral trade reached $541.8 million in 2025. Both governments have set an ambitious target of increasing annual trade turnover to $3 billion in the coming years.
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