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.”
Ariana Afghan Airlines has increased cargo flights between Kabul and Delhi to facilitate the transportation of commercial goods and support Afghan traders.
In a statement issued Saturday, the airline said it will now operate two scheduled cargo flights daily on the Kabul-Delhi route, up from one flight per day previously.
The airline said Afghan traders and commercial companies can use the daily cargo services to transport their goods quickly, safely and reliably between Afghanistan and India.
Ariana Afghan Airlines said it is working to further expand and improve its air cargo services to support trade, meet the needs of Afghan traders and facilitate Afghanistan’s exports and imports.
Business
Afghanistan, Turkmenistan agree to establish joint road transport commission
The sides also agreed to establish a joint commission to address road transport issues and improve coordination.
Afghanistan and Turkmenistan have agreed to establish a joint commission on road transport and facilitate transit between the two countries following two days of talks in Herat.
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation said the meeting brought together technical delegations from both countries to strengthen bilateral transport and transit cooperation.
The talks focused on easing visa procedures for Afghan and Turkmen drivers and traders, operationalising the Lapis Lazuli transit corridor and increasing the movement of transit vehicles between the two countries.
The sides also agreed to establish a joint commission to address road transport issues and improve coordination.
Representatives from Afghanistan’s ministries of foreign affairs, industry and commerce and the railway authority attended the talks, alongside the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation. Railway links, bilateral trade and wider transit cooperation were also discussed, with private-sector representatives expected to participate in future discussions.
The agreement comes as Turkmenistan works to strengthen its role as a regional transport and logistics hub, using its road, rail and Caspian Sea infrastructure to connect Central Asia with markets to the west and south.
A key part of that network is the International Seaport of Turkmenbashi, which links Turkmenistan with Azerbaijan and onward routes towards the South Caucasus and Europe.
Turkmenistan’s transport infrastructure also forms part of the wider Middle Corridor, or Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, connecting China and Central Asia with Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye before reaching European markets.
For Afghanistan, the Lapis Lazuli Corridor is particularly important. It connects Afghanistan through Turkmenistan and across the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan, Georgia and Türkiye, providing a potential route towards European markets.
Rail links such as the Herat-Torghundi line could further connect Afghanistan’s markets with Turkmenistan’s wider transport network.
The latest agreement puts road transport and transit facilitation at the centre of efforts by the two neighbours to expand trade and strengthen regional connectivity.
Business
TAPI gas deliveries to Afghanistan and Pakistan expected to begin in 2027
Turkmenistan regards TAPI as a key project for diversifying its gas exports and strengthening regional economic cooperation.
Turkmenistan expects natural gas supplies to Afghanistan and Pakistan through the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline to begin in 2027, according to the Turkmen Embassy in Islamabad.
Turkmen Ambassador Atajan Movlamov said construction of the strategically important Serhetabat-Herat section of the pipeline is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
Movlamov made the remarks during an Ambassadors’ Dinner hosted by the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Islamabad.
He said the implementation of TAPI and other regional energy projects could strengthen Pakistan’s energy security while creating new opportunities for industrial development and economic growth.
The planned 1,800-kilometre pipeline is designed to transport up to 33 billion cubic metres of natural gas annually from Turkmenistan’s giant Galkynysh gas field through Afghanistan to Pakistan and India.
Turkmenistan regards TAPI as a key project for diversifying its gas exports and strengthening regional economic cooperation.
The Galkynysh field, which is the main resource base for TAPI, is among the world’s largest gas fields, with estimated reserves of more than 27 trillion cubic metres.
The project has faced years of delays, but recent construction and developments in the regional energy sector have renewed attention to TAPI as a potential link between Central Asian gas resources and South Asian energy markets.
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