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SIGAR claims almost $11 million in US funds paid to IEA government
The Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) said in its latest audit report that US government implementing partners paid at least $10.9 million to the Islamic Emirate government in the form of taxes, fees, import duties, or for the receipt of permits, licenses, or public utility services since August 2021.
SIGAR also claimed the IEA “disrupted implementing partner activities through various means, including attempts to divert aid or infiltrate nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and interfere with their activities, which in some cases, negatively impacted the implementation of activities and diverted aid from the intended beneficiaries.”
SIGAR stated that of the $10.9 million, $10.4 million was spent on taxes; $346,839 on payments for utilities; $176,596 on fees; and $9,215 on customs duties.
SIGAR also found that the $10.9 million paid by 38 US Department of State (State), US Agency for International Development (USAID), and US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) implementing partners is likely only a fraction of the total amount of US assistance funds provided to the IEA in taxes, fees, duties, and utilities.
SIGAR reported this is because “UN agencies receiving US funds did not collect data or provide relevant information about their subawardees’ payments.”
According to SIGAR, from October 2021 through September 2023, the UN received $1.6 billion in US funding for programing in Afghanistan, approximately 63% of all US assistance funding for Afghanistan during that period.
“UN agreements with State and USAID do not include any requirements to annually report on taxes, fees, duties, or utilities incurred on US funds provided for activities in Afghanistan,” SIGAR stated.
SIGAR noted however that “implementing partners can experience significant consequences if they fail to pay the taxes, fees, duties, and utilities required by the Taliban-controlled (IEA) government of Afghanistan.”
However, Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman of the Islamic Emirate, said in response to SIGAR’s latest report that Afghanistan’s caretaker government does not interfere in the process of distributing aid and the work of institutions.
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A high-level Russian delegation will soon visit Kabul: envoy
Kabulov and Muttaqi discussed bilateral relations between Afghanistan and Russia, especially economic cooperation, investment and transit
Russia’s Special Representative for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov said in a meeting with Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Kabul that a high-level Russian delegation will visit Kabul in the near future to discuss the expansion of bilateral cooperation with the Islamic Emirate.
Kabulov and Muttaqi discussed bilateral relations between Afghanistan and Russia, especially economic cooperation, investment and transit, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Muttaqi described the relations between the Islamic Emirate and Russia as important, stressing that the ties should be expanded to include economic and trade cooperation.
He said visits to Kabul by high-level officials was important, adding that during the past year, many officials of the Islamic Emirate have been invited to Russia to attend international meetings.
Meanwhile, the Russian diplomat said that his country wants to expand its relations with Afghanistan in the economic and trade sectors.
This comes on the heels of Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko’s comments that the completion of legal procedures to remove the Islamic Emirate from Moscow’s terrorist list will provide positive impetus to Russian-Afghan relations.
In an interview with Russia’s TASS news agency, published early Sunday, Rudenko said “removing the terrorist organization’s status from the Taliban Movement (Islamic Emirate) will attribute a positive impetus to Russian-Afghan interaction in various spheres, in the economy in the first instance."
"As regards the issue of the official recognition of current Afghan authorities, it is early to talk about it thus far. Let’s act gradually, step by step, but we do not intend to artificially impede the processes," Rudenko noted.
Russia has been slowly building ties with the Islamic Emirate since it regained power in Afghanistan in August 2021 but the IEA is still officially outlawed in Russia.
In response to Russia’s comments last month, the IEA’s acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said the Islamic Emirate “appreciates the positive remarks by the high-ranking officials of the Russian Federation in this regard and hope to see more effective steps soon."
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Iran appoints new ambassador to Afghanistan
Ali Reza Begdeli, Iran's former deputy foreign minister for consular affairs, has been appointed as the country's new ambassador to Kabul, Mehr news agency reported on Sunday.
The outlet added that the post of the Iranian presidential special representative in Afghanistan has been removed and, as before, the special representative for Afghanistan will act directly under the supervision of the foreign minister.
It is worth mentioning that Hassan Kazemi Qomi previously served as Iran's ambassador and presidential special representative in Afghanistan.
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Iran to Host ECO Ministerial Meeting next week
The 28th meeting of the foreign ministers of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) member states will be held in Iran’s northeastern city of Mashhad next week.
Spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Esmaeil Baqaei said on Sunday that the upcoming meeting will be attended by the ministers and senior officials of ECO, directors of the regional specialized departments of the organization, and the secretaries general of a number of multilateral economic organizations.
The meeting will be chaired by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, Iranian local media reported.
Iran is holding the rotating presidency of ECO in 2024.
The Tehran-headquartered ECO was established by Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey in 1985.
The main purpose of the organization is to promote economic, technical, and cultural cooperation among the member states.
In 1992, the organization was expanded to include seven new members, namely Afghanistan, Republic of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
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