The World Bank’s office will become operational in Afghanistan within a month, and it will restart its projects, halted since 2021, as reported by Khaama Press.
Ahmad Wali Haqmal, the spokesperson for the Taliban’s Ministry of Finance, announced that the World Bank will restart 45 incomplete projects in Afghanistan that were halted after the Taliban took over the region.
He announced this during an interview with Tolo News on Tuesday, stating, “Following our continuous negotiations in the past year, the World Bank has agreed to initially fund half-completed projects.”
He further emphasised that the World Bank has committed to commencing project payments by April 2024, Khama Press reported.
Earlier in 2021, the World Bank said that they had stopped working on all of its projects, worth over USD 4.5 million, in Afghanistan after the Taliban took took over.
However, in 2022-23, it resumed some of its projects in the country, according to Khaama Press.
World Bank projects in Afghanistan primarily target key sectors, including infrastructure, construction, healthcare, energy, and agriculture.
These initiatives aim to promote development and improve the country’s essential services and infrastructure, reported Khaama Press.
Moreover, these projects initiated by the World Bank play a crucial role in addressing Afghanistan’s pressing needs, from building and maintaining critical infrastructure to strengthening healthcare services and supporting agricultural development.
Last month, the World Bank’s top economists said that half of Afghanistan’s population currently lives below the poverty line, TOLO News reported.
World Bank Senior Economist Silvia Redaelli said, “We see that in terms of monetary poverty, we still have half of the population that in 2023 is consuming below the poverty line.” Director and Cofounder of the Institute for Development and Economic Affairs, Naheed Sarabi, said at the discussion that the economic situation of women is getting worse, reported TOLO News,an Afghan news channel broadcasting from Kabul.
Moreover, earlier this year, the recent regime change in Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover in August 2021 has not only affected the economy but also the welfare of the Afghan people, the World Bank said in its recent report, “Women, Business and the Law 2023.”
Afghanistan was one of the 11 economies with the lowest rankings for women, business, and law in the World Bank’s most recent assessment.