Business
$1 billion US aid cut to ‘hit Afghan security force funds’
The US would cut $1 billion of its aid to Afghanistan from funds for Afghan security forces, Reuters reported citing to US sources.
The sources have told Reuters that the aid cut would undercut both Kabul’s ability to fight the Taliban and its leverage to negotiate a peace deal with them.
After the US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo failed to convince Ghani and Abdullah to an agreement to resolve the political disputes following the announcement of the results of the election, the US announced a $1 Billion reductions in aid to the country.
Pompeo, however, said the aid cut could be reversed if the two sides resolved their dispute.
Meanwhile, the US’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, said in a tweet that international aid requires partnership with an inclusive government, referring to Afghanistan.
“It can’t be business as usual for international donors in Afghanistan. International aid requires partnership with an inclusive government and we all must hold Afghan leaders accountable to agree on a governing arrangement,” Wells said.
Two U.S. congressional aides have told Reuters on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter that State Department officials told Congress the $1 billion would come from a $4.2 billion Pentagon fund that underwrites about three-quarters of the Afghan security forces’ annual budget.
“The idea they would cut security forces funding goes against U.S. national security interests,” one aide has told Reuters, arguing the money is needed to maintain the U.S.-backed government’s ability to fight the Taliban while preserving its bargaining power in peace talks.
Most of the fund pays for salaries, food, fuel, equipment, and infrastructure to support Afghan troops and national police, the report said.
Nooruddin Azizi, Acting Minister of Commerce and Industry, met with representatives from the ministries of foreign affairs, defense and interior of Malaysia, along with other senior officials, on Wednesday and called on Malaysians to invest in Afghanistan.
The visiting delegation is being led by senior diplomat Dr. Shazelina Zainul Abidin.
According to the IEA’s foreign ministry, the two sides discussed bilateral trade, holding a business communication conference to strengthen trade relations between the two countries, the trade balance between Afghanistan and Malaysia, and creating a market for Afghan products, including carpets, cotton, and minerals.
According to the ministry, at the end of the meeting, the Acting Minister emphasized the increase of investment from regional countries in Afghanistan and called on Malaysian investors to also invest in Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Interior says that Afghanistan has started exporting goods to Turkey via the Herat-Khaf railway line.
In a post on X, the ministry said: “Afghanistan’s exports to Turkey started in a calm atmosphere through the Herat-Khaf railway line.”
The ministry added that one train will run daily for a month and then two trains will run daily.
According to the ministry, the security of Khaf-Herat railway line is provided by the guards of the National Public Protection Agency.
Khaf-Herat railway project not only connects Iran and Afghanistan by rail, but also completes a 2,000-kilometer route along the east-west rail corridor from China, through Uzbekistan, to Afghanistan, to Iran, and on to Turkey and Europe.
As a landlocked country, this railway network will provide a safe route to connect with Europe via Iran’s railway network and Iran’s southern ports.
This railway line is strategic for trade between Iran and Afghanistan and will allow six million tons of goods to be sent between the two countries.
A joint expo between Afghanistan and Kazakhstan will be held in Kabul in the next four days, officials said on Sunday.
Officials of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce said that the two-day expo will be held for the purpose of expanding and strengthening trade relations between the two countries.
“This expo will be held as a follow-up of the Kazakh-Afghan international expo, which was held in the city of Astana, Kazakhstan, with the participation of a large delegation of the government and the private sector of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” Abdulsalam Javad Akhundzadeh, the spokesman of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, said.
“At this expo, domestic products from different sectors of Afghanistan and the Republic of Kazakhstan will be put on display for two days.”
According to officials, 40 large Kazakh companies, and 40 large Afghan companies will exhibit their products.
Mohammad Saber Latifi, head of the Afghanistan International Expo Center, said that fruits, minerals and commercial services will be displayed at the expo.
During the expo, various memorandums of understanding for the trade of goods are also expected to be signed by companies.
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