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Taliban Face Financial Crisis without Access to Foreign Reserves

(Guardian-UK) Peter Beaumont - Afghanistan's new Taliban rulers are likely to face a financial crisis, with foreign currency reserves largely unreachable and Western aid donors, who fund 75% of the country's institutions, already cutting off or threatening to cut payments. On Wednesday, Afghanistan's central bank governor, Ajmal Ahmady, disclosed that the country has $9 billion in reserves abroad, including $7 billion in U.S. bank accounts. The Taliban have relied heavily in the past five years on hugely increasing their trade in opium. In 2020, the country accounted for 84% of global opium production. But there is a huge disparity between the money the Taliban have had available to fund their military campaign and what they will need to govern.
2021-08-19 00:00:00
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