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World Bank and ARTF approve three emergency projects totaling $793 million

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The Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF) Management Committee and the World Bank this week approved three projects totaling $793 million that will provide urgent and essential food, livelihood, and health services to the people of Afghanistan.

According to a statement issued by the World Bank, all three projects will be implemented off-budget out of the interim government’s control, through United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations. The activities are coordinated with other multilateral and bilateral funding pledges for Afghanistan, the statement read.

“These projects are designed to help women and girls benefit from project activities. Entry criteria, including the principles of equitable access for women, must be met and funds will be released in two tranches to provide the opportunity for ARTF donors to review progress on the ground and assess whether announced policies of the interim administration continue to allow the participation of women.

“All three projects also have internal fiduciary control and independent monitoring arrangements to ensure that funds are utilized for their intended purposes,” the statement noted.

The Afghanistan Emergency Food Security Project will help in the production of food crops for smallholder Afghan farmers and prevent the further deterioration of food security.

A total amount of $195 million will be released in two tranches: $150 million and $45 million, the World Bank said.

The second project, the Afghanistan Community Resilience and Livelihoods Project will help provide short-term livelihood opportunities and deliver urgent essential services in rural and urban areas.

According to the World Bank, the project aims to provide livelihood and income opportunities for one million households in 6,450 rural communities across Afghanistan and the cities of Bamiyan, Herat, Jalalabad, Kabul, Kandahar, Khost, Kunduz, and Mazar-e-Sharif.

Women and vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities and internally displaced people, will receive special assistance, the World Bank’s statement read.

A total amount of $265 million will be released in two tranches: $100 million and $165 million.

The third project, the Afghanistan Health Emergency Response Project will increase the utilization and quality of essential health services in Afghanistan.

This project aims to deliver basic health, nutrition, and COVID-19 services in partnership with national and international service providers, in more than 2,300 health facilities nationwide.

Among the other expected results, the project will help two million children to be fully immunized and more than 1.2 million women will give birth at the health facilities.

A total amount of $333 million will be released in two tranches.

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Joint chamber concerned over reduction in Afghanistan-Pakistan trade

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Senior Vice President of Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi, on Wednesday expressed his deep concern over drastic reduction in the bilateral trade with Afghanistan and Central Asian countries.

In a press statement, Sarhadi who is also Executive Member Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry blames enforcement of two percent Infrastructure Development Cess by Khyber Government on export cargo as one of the reason for recent dip in trade between Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asian Republics, Pakistani media reported.

He said in the recent past the volume of bilateral trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan was around 2.5 billion dollars which has shrunk to mere 700 million dollars.

Citing other reasons behind this plunge in trade volume, Zia said it includes frequent closure of Pak-Afghan border at Torkhem border, Temporary Admission Document, implementation of ban on Pak-Afghan trade including 100 percent bank guarantee, inclusion of 14 items into negative list, enforcement of 10 percent processing fees, restrictions at Karachi port causing holding of more than 300 containers of transit trade.

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Work on TAPI project finally kicks off in Afghanistan

Mujahid added that a large number of people are working in different sections of this project and its first phase will be completed in the next two years.

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The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) spokesman says practical work on the Afghanistan section of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) project has started.

Zabihullah Mujahid told Ariana News that technical equipment needed to implement the project was transferred to the border area between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan and that practical work has started.

Mujahid added that a large number of people are working in different sections of this project and its first phase will be completed in the next two years.

According to Mujahid, practical work on the CASA-1000 project and other projects will also start soon.

The spokesman of the Islamic Emirate said that Afghanistan will slowly strengthen and good job opportunities will be provided for the country's citizens.

Economic experts also believe that this project will play a vital role in the growth of the region's economy.

According to TAPI project officials, once completed, 12,000 people in Afghanistan will have job opportunities, and Afghanistan's annual income from this project will be close to one billion dollars.

The TAPI pipeline is 1,821 kilometers long and has an annual transport capacity of 33 billion cubic meters of natural gas, making it one of the largest regional infrastructure projects.

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Trump warns BRICS nations against replacing US dollar

“They can go find another ‘sucker’. There is no chance that the BRICS will replace the U.S. Dollar in International Trade, and any Country that tries should wave goodbye to America.”

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U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday demanded that BRICS member countries commit to not creating a new currency or supporting another currency that would replace the United States dollar or face 100% tariffs, Reuters reported.

"We require a commitment from these Countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty U.S. Dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. Economy," Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.

"They can go find another 'sucker'. There is no chance that the BRICS will replace the U.S. Dollar in International Trade, and any Country that tries should wave goodbye to America."

The BRICS countries - which now include Egypt, Iran, and UAE as well - discussed boosting non-dollar transactions and strengthening local currencies at a summit held in Russia's Kazan in October, read the report.

A joint declaration for the "strengthening of correspondent banking networks within BRICS and enabling settlements in local currencies in line with BRICS Cross-Border Payments Initiative" was secured at the summit in October.

However, Russia's President Vladimir Putin indicated at the summit's end that no alternatives have been made so far to compete with the Belgium-based SWIFT financial messaging system.

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