Trade increases in Afghanistan

Trade has increased in Afghanistan through the Torghondi railway despite the Hairatan-Mazar-e-Sharif railway line remaining closed. The trade line between Afghanistan and Uzbekistan has been closed since last week, but other routes including Torghondi remained active and according to the Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA), 50 wagons of food materials were imported through the Torghondi railway in the past 24 hours.

A spokesman for the ARA, Abdul Sami said that the major part of the wagons was food materials and the total weight is 3,360 metric tons.

Meanwhile, the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI) said that trades have been underway through four ports.

ACCI said there were some challenges at the customs office in the past but it has been resolved now.

“The Central Asian nations and the South Asian countries are now able to directly run their businesses through transits without any challenges,” according to ACCI.

Turkmenistan to establish a new corridor

The development comes as earlier the government of Turkmenistan announced readiness to establish a trade corridor with Afghanistan.

The country’s foreign ministry said that the agreement has been reached on the establishment of a new corridor for the transportation of commodities through Afghanistan to South Asian Nations.

This comes as Uzbekistan closed the Hairatan-Mazar-e-Sharif railway for exports and imports to Afghanistan, blaming the Taliban for not delivering on their promises.

However, the ARA said that a delegation will visit Uzbekistan this week to discuss the resumption of the Hairatan-Mazar-e-Sharif railway.

Afghanistan to auction $17m

The central bank of Afghanistan has announced that it will auction $17 million as part of efforts to stabilize the value of the Afghan currency against US dollars and other foreign currencies.

Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) has called on the private banks and exchange companies to participate in the auction which is meant to prevent increase in prices of essential items.

The eligible company must settle their accounts by the end of this week. Partial settlement of transactions is not allowed, as per the demand of the central bank and also the winners of the auction are obliged to transfer the payable amount to the central bank in cash.

Last week, the bank also announced an auction of $16 million US dollars in order to keep the value of Afghani stable.

$25m aid package for Afghanistan

As part of improving the fragile economy and international engagement, the government of Afghanistan hopes for the resumption of flights between the two countries.

The Taliban are optimistic that India will agree to resume direct flights between New Delhi and Kandahar, according to Hindustan Times.

It comes as last week, the Taliban praised India’s budget for the 2023-24 financial year. The Taliban believes that the announcement of aid by India for Afghanistan would help improve ties and trust between the two nations

The comment from the Taliban came after India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed a $25 million development aid package for Afghanistan.

Suhail Shaheen, a Taliban member in Doha, Qatar said that they appreciate India’s support for Afghanistan’s development. “It will help to improve ties and trust between the two nations,” Shaheen added.

Meanwhile, the Taliban Ministry of Transportation and Civil Aviation said that direct flights from Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport to Dubai began on Sunday.

Haji Zaid, a spokesman for the Kandahar’s governor said that these flights are operated by private airline Kam Air.

Kam Air also confirmed the news and said that they are working to resume flights between Kandahar and New Delhi and Kandahar and China.

Severe economic crisis

The government of Taliban itself is scrambling with a severe economic and humanitarian crisis. These developments will help improve the current economic situation. Afghanistan is highly dependent on the foreign aid and has been receiving humanitarian aid programs in the last several years.

The situation further exacerbated when the US seized the Afghan assets and also imposed sanctions on Afghanistan’s banking sector. The US also imposed travel sanctions on some Taliban officials.

Hundreds have died in Afghanistan in the past several weeks due to bitter cold weather and a delicate economy. At the same time, many aid NGOs suspended their mission after the Taliban announced a ban on the female NGO staff and ordered them to stay at home until further notice. In reaction, the NGOs said they are not working until they get back their female staff.

However, despite so many sanctions and restrictions, the World Bank in its recent report said that Taliban has increased exports and the revenue collection remained strong, including from customs duties and mining royalties.