The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that its executive board was briefed by staff on economic developments in Afghanistan, Iran, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen on Friday.

IMF said that it was an informal board briefing.

It has not provided further details.

The Trump administration is considering issuing sweeping travel restrictions for the citizens of dozens of countries as part of a new ban, Reuters reported citing sources and a memo.

The memo lists a total of 41 countries divided into three separate groups. The first group of 10 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Cuba and North Korea among others, would be set for a full visa suspension.

In the second group, five countries — Eritrea, Haiti, Laos, Myanmar and South Sudan — would face partial suspensions that would impact tourist and student visas as well as other immigrant visas, with some exceptions.

In the third group, a total of 26 countries that includes Belarus, Pakistan and Turkmenistan among others would be considered for a partial suspension of U.S. visa issuance if their governments “do not make efforts to address deficiencies within 60 days”, the memo said.

A U.S. official speaking on the condition of anonymity cautioned there could be changes on the list and that it was yet to be approved by the administration, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The New York Times first reported on the list of countries.

The move harkens back to President Donald Trump’s first term ban on travelers from seven majority-Muslim nations, a policy that went through several iterations before it was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.

Trump issued an executive order on January 20 requiring intensified security vetting of any foreigners seeking admission to the U.S. to detect national security threats.

That order directed several cabinet members to submit by March 21 a list of countries from which travel should be partly or fully suspended because their “vetting and screening information is so deficient.”

Trump’s directive is part of an immigration crackdown that he launched at the start of his second term.

He previewed his plan in an October 2023 speech, pledging to restrict people from the Gaza Strip, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and “anywhere else that threatens our security.”

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Amir Khan Muttaqi, during his visit to Oman, has called on the country to reduce the prison terms of Afghan prisoners and release them.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday, Muttaqi met with several officials of Oman including the Minister of the Royal Office in the Sultanate of Oman, the officials of the Chamber of Commerce and Investment, and the Minister of Endowments and Religious Affairs.

He called for the start of direct flights between the two countries and Oman’s coordination with the Afghan Embassy in providing consular services to Afghans residing in Oman.

He also called for increased trade between the two countries.

Muttaqi told the Minister of Endowments and Religious Affairs of Oman that the experiences of the two countries in the field of mosques, pilgrimage and endowments should be shared with each other. He also called for Oman’s assistance in the reconstruction of mosques in Afghanistan.