China has called on the World Bank to resume aid to Afghanistan

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi yesterday called on the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to resume financial assistance to Afghanistan for the reconstruction of the country, which is facing a lack of liquidity, at a meeting of Afghanistan’s neighbors hosted by Iran.

After the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August, billions of dollars in central bank assets were frozen and international financial institutions suspended access to finance, although humanitarian aid continued.

Bank money is running out, government employees have not been paid, and food prices have risen.

However, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday that Afghanistan’s economy would shrink by 30 percent this year, possibly fueling the refugee crisis.

“Afghanistan needs revitalization on all fronts, and development is a top priority,” said the Chinese foreign minister, who spoke virtually with the foreign ministers of Afghanistan’s neighbors.

He reiterated his call on the United States and other Western countries to lift unilateral sanctions against Afghanistan, and called on the World Health Organization to provide more vaccines and medical equipment to help Afghanistan fight Covid-19.

“My general impression is that the Taliban are eager to talk and cooperate with the outside world, and they are serious about that,” Wang added.

China, meanwhile, has said it will send $ 30 million in emergency humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.