Business
IEA directs commission to take urgent steps to stabilize Afghan currency
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) on Monday held a minister's council meeting at the Presidential Palace to find ways to stabilize the weakening Afghan currency.
IEA deputy spokesman Inamullah Samangani said in a tweet that the council directed the economic commission headed by Mawlawi Abdul Salam Hanafi to take urgent steps to stabilize the Afghani against the US dollar in coordination with all economic institutions.
“The commission was also tasked to take serious steps to prevent the smuggling of dollars, the spread of fake Afghan currency and eliminate other factors that have a negative impact on the value of the Afghan currency, and continue to urgently identify ways to stabilize the Afghan currency,” Samangani tweeted.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s Central Bank is meeting with money exchangers, commercial banks and business leaders on Tuesday in the hope of also finding ways to stabilize the value of the Afghani - which has fallen sharply in the last week against the US dollar.
This worrying drop in value of the Afghani against the dollar comes amid a deepening economic and humanitarian crisis and has led to a sharp increase in the price of goods, including essential items like food and fuel.
Officials from the Money Exchange Union in Sarai Shahzada, (Afghanistan’s largest money exchanging market) said on Monday the exchange rate was 123 AFN to the dollar, after sliding from 110 AFN to the dollar on Sunday.
A month ago, it was under 90 AFN to the dollar.
Union officials said part of the problem was due to rumors being spread by some money changers, who have since been let go.
On Monday, the market’s “Boli” section, which determines the value of the AFN and deals with large transactions, was closed.
Meanwhile, local media reported on Tuesday that a money changer suffered a stroke inside his shop in Farah province following the drop in value of the AFN.
According to shop owners in the area, the money changer had owed a significant amount of money to lenders and died as the AFN dropped.
Business
Iran’s non-oil exports to Afghanistan rise by 31% this solar year
Iran’s imports from Afghanistan also rose sharply, totalling over $33 million, a 192% increase in this period
Iran's non-oil exports to Afghanistan surged by 31% in the first half of this solar year (April to September 2024), totalling over $1.77 billion.
According to Iran’s trade association in Afghanistan, both the value and volume of non-oil exports to Afghanistan saw substantial growth.
Statistics provided by the association indicate that nearly 560,000 tons of Iranian goods, including iron, steel, cement, eggs, and potatoes, were exported to Afghanistan during this period.
Iran’s imports from Afghanistan also rose sharply, totalling over $33 million, a 192% increase in this period.
The primary exports to Iran included barley, corn, peanuts, and chilies.
Business
Private sectors of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan sign contracts worth $100 million
Private sectors of Afghanistan and Kazakhstan have signed contracts worth $100 million during the visit of an Afghan delegation to Almaty recently, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) announced on Thursday.
The agreements include the export of more than 2,000 tons of dried fruit, the export of fresh fruit, including pomegranates, and the export of cotton, Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, said on X.
Mujahid said that the Islamic Emirate delegation during its recent visit to Kazakhstan signed a "road map of cooperation between Afghanistan and Kazakhstan in the fields of trade, industry, mining, energy, logistics, agriculture, telecommunications, health, higher education and humanitarian aid.”
He said Kazakhstan also assured that it would provide more facilities for the transit of Afghan goods to China and other countries through Kazakhstan.
The allocation of an area "as a logistics center for Afghan goods" in the port of Khargos was also part of the agreement between the two sides to facilitate the unloading and loading of Afghan traders' goods.
The spokesman of the Islamic Emirate also said that Kazakhstan will participate in the construction of the Torghundi-Herat, Kandahar-Spin Boldak and Mazar-e-Sharif-Kharlachi railway projects.
Mujahid added that Kazakhstan will also participate in the establishment of a trade and transit center in Herat province, which will be used to store and finance trade and transit goods. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan has agreed to establish permanent expo centers for the sale of Afghan goods in various cities of Kazakhstan.
It is worth mentioning that the delegation of the Islamic Emirate led by Nooruddin Azizi, Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce, participated in the three-day exhibition of Afghanistan's domestic products, which was launched on October 21 in Almaty.
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce recently announced that 23 tons of pomegranates from Kandahar province were exported to Almaty through the port of Torghundi.
Business
China resumes direct rail trade with Afghanistan
China resumed its direct freight rail services to Afghanistan on Thursday when a train loaded with goods left Nantong city in Jiangsu province.
The train, carrying commercial goods in 55 wagons, is heading for the northern Hairatan border in Balkh province, Yue Xiaoyong, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Special Representative for Afghanistan, said in a post on X.
Nantong is a central hub of the Belt and Road Initiative and is located north of Shanghai.
The resumption of the rail line was marked at a formal ceremony on Thursday with Yue and Bilal Karimi, the Afghan Ambassador to China, in attendance.
This comes after China recently announced plans to lift customs tariffs on Afghan exports to China by the end of this year, further strengthening trade ties between the two nations.
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