The shift marks the first time that the World Bank’s own funds would be sent to Afghanistan since the IEA seized power in August 2021.

The Bank’s new engagement with Afghanistan, dubbed “Approach 3.0,” will also revive a regional infrastructure project that was paused after the IEA took control of the country, the Bank announced in a statement, AFP reported.

Under the approach, World Bank’s lending arm for some of the world’s poorest countries, known as the International Development Association (IDA), will make available around $300 million over the next 15 months, subject to further board approval, a spokesperson told AFP.

However, as with other World Bank funding in the country, the new funding would be deployed “through grants to United Nations agencies and other public international organizations,” the Bank said in a statement announcing the board decision.

“These funds will continue supporting basic services nationwide, particularly those benefiting women, and will be outside the control of the Interim Taliban Administration (IEA),” it added.

On Thursday, the World Bank also approved the resumption of a $1.2 billion clean energy project known as CASA-1000, which involves three countries nearby to Afghanistan: Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan.

“Construction in the other three participating countries is nearly complete and these countries have requested that CASA-1000 activities in Afghanistan resume to avoid the risk of the project becoming a stranded asset,” the Bank said.

As with the IDA funding, this project will be carried out in a way that ensures it does not involve the IEA government’s systems, it added.