The United States, through the Treasury and State Departments and in coordination with international partners, including the Swiss government and Afghan economic experts, today announced the establishment of a fund to benefit the people of Afghanistan, or “Afghan Fund.”
The United States remains committed to supporting the people of Afghanistan amid ongoing economic and humanitarian crises. Under Executive Order (E.O.) 14064, President Biden established a policy that allows $3.5 billion of Afghan central bank reserves to be used for the benefit of the people of Afghanistan while keeping them out of the hands of the Taliban and other malign actors . The Afghan Fund will protect, preserve and make targeted disbursements of this $3.5 billion to help provide greater stability to the Afghan economy.
The Taliban is not part of the Afghan fund and robust safeguards are in place to prevent the funds from being used for illicit activity. The Afghan fund will maintain its account with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) based in Switzerland. The BIS is an international financial organization that provides a range of financial services, including banking services to central banks, monetary authorities and international financial institutions (see www.bis.org). An external auditor will monitor and audit the Afghan fund as required by Swiss law.
“The people of Afghanistan are facing humanitarian and economic crises born of decades of conflict, severe drought, COVID-19 and endemic corruption,” said Wendy Sherman, US Deputy Secretary of State. “Today, the United States and its partners are taking an important, concrete step forward to ensure that additional resources can be deployed to reduce suffering and improve economic stability for the people of Afghanistan while continuing to hold the Taliban accountable.”
“The Afghanistan Fund will help mitigate the economic challenges facing Afghanistan while protecting and preserving $3.5 billion in reserves from Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB), Afghanistan’s central bank, for the benefit of the people of Afghanistan, ” said Wally Adeyemo, US Deputy Secretary of State. of the treasury. “The Taliban’s repression and economic mismanagement have exacerbated longstanding economic challenges for Afghanistan, including through actions that have diminished the capacity of key Afghan economic institutions and made the return of these funds to Afghanistan unsustainable. Through this fund, the United States will work closely with our international partners to facilitate the use of these assets to improve the lives of ordinary people in Afghanistan.”
“In response to the critical challenges facing the people of Afghanistan, the United States is already the largest donor of humanitarian assistance,” Sherman also noted. “We have worked with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank to make more than $1 billion in aid available for basic services and other urgent needs, in addition to providing over $814 million in U.S. humanitarian assistance directly to implementing partners to support the Afghan people while preventing funds from benefiting the Taliban. Now the Afghan Fund will be part of our ongoing diplomatic and humanitarian efforts on behalf of the people of Afghanistan.”
According to the World Bank, income and economic output in Afghanistan have fallen by 20-30 percent, imports have fallen by approximately 40 percent, and about 70 percent of Afghan households report that they are unable to fully meet basic food or non-food needs. food needs. Disbursements from the Afghan fund could include keeping Afghanistan current on its debt payments to international financial institutions, which would maintain its eligibility for development aid, and paying for critical imports such as electricity.
Central Bank of Afghanistan (DAB) When the Taliban took over Kabul, Afghanistan’s central bank, DAB, lost access to its accounts in financial institutions around the world—not just in the United States—due to the uncertainty of who could authorize transactions in DAB’s accounts. Since then, the economic situation in Afghanistan has continued to deteriorate due to the Taliban’s poor financial management and failure to restore critical capabilities to the DAB, such as adequate anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT).
To rebuild confidence among the international financial community, the DAB must demonstrate that it has the expertise, capacity and independence to responsibly carry out the tasks of a central bank. To move towards this goal, the DAB must demonstrate that it is free from political interference, has appropriate AML/CFT controls in place and has undertaken a third party needs assessment and built in a third party monitor.
The Afghan Fund The Afghan Fund is incorporated as a Swiss fund established to protect, preserve and – on a targeted basis – disburse $3.5 billion for the benefit of the Afghan people. The Afghan Fund can also serve as a means of protecting and disbursing foreign exchange reserves of other Afghan central banks currently held in other countries. These disbursements are intended to help address the acute effects of Afghanistan’s economic and humanitarian crises by supporting Afghanistan’s macroeconomic and financial stability.
Placement of Assets The Afghan Fund will maintain its account with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). BIS is an established international financial organization that provides a range of financial services, including banking services to central banks, monetary authorities and international financial institutions. See www.bis.org.
BIS will act as an intermediary bank and will not be involved in the management of the Afghan fund or perform any related functions such as approving disbursements.
Use of funds In the short term, the board of the Afghan Fund will have the ability to approve targeted disbursements to promote monetary and macroeconomic stability and benefit the Afghan people. This could include paying for critical imports like electricity, paying Afghanistan’s arrears with international financial institutions to maintain their eligibility for financial support, paying for essential central bank services like SWIFT payments and others.
In the longer term, the aim is that funds not used for these limited purposes are retained to return to DAB. The United States has made clear that we will not support the return of these funds until the DAB: (1) demonstrates its independence from political influence and interference; (2) demonstrates that it has put in place appropriate anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) controls; and (3) complete a third-party needs assessment and onboard a reputable third-party monitor.
Afghan Fund Governance The Afghan Fund is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and a board oversees the fund. The board currently consists of two highly qualified Afghan economic experts with relevant macroeconomic and monetary policy experience, one representative of the US government and one representative of the Swiss government. The Afghan Fund is supported by international partners committed to supporting sustainable monetary and macroeconomic stability in Afghanistan. An external auditor will monitor and audit the Afghan fund as required by Swiss law.
Legal Basis for the Transfer of the Afghan Central Bank’s Assets On February 11, 2022, the President signed E.O. 14064 to help enable certain assets of DAB held in the United States to be used for the benefit of the Afghan people. Subsequently, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a license authorizing the transfer of up to $3.5 billion of DAB funds for the benefit of the Afghan people.
Consistent with past practice and following the Taliban takeover, the State Department certified two individuals under Section 25B of the Federal Reserve Act as having joint authority to receive, control, or dispose of property from the DAB’s account. These individuals founded the Afghan Foundation as a legal entity in Switzerland.
Why U.S. is involved in Afghanistan?
Do you remember why we went to Afghanistan in the first place? Because we were attacked by Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda on September 11, 2001, and they were based in Afghanistan. We delivered justice to bin Laden on May 2, 2011, more than ten years ago. Al Qaeda was decimated.
Is Afghanistan part of NATO?
In 2012, the United States named Afghanistan a major non-NATO ally, paving the way for the two countries to maintain a defense and economic relationship. This may interest you : The U.S. delegation has been unable to secure the release of Americans arrested in Venezuela.
Which countries are in NATO? The current member countries of NATO are Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, …
Is Afghanistan on NATO?
NATO in Afghanistan ISAF was led by NATO from August 2003 to December 2014 and was succeeded on 1 January 2015 by the Resolute Support Mission (RSM), which ended in early September 2021. On the same subject : Secretary of State Mayorkas Extends Temporary Protected Status for Syrians in the United States.
Which countries are not part of NATO?
Six EU member states, all of which have declared independence from military alliances, are not NATO members: Austria, Cyprus, Finland, Ireland, Malta and Sweden. This may interest you : Alleged Russian cryptocurrency money launderer extradited to United States. Additionally, Switzerland, which is surrounded by the EU, has also maintained their neutrality by remaining a non-EU member.
What countries are in NATO 2022?
NATO country list 2022
- Canada (1949)
- Croatia (2009)
- France (1949)
- Germany (1955)
- Greece (1952)
- Hungary (1999)
- Czech Republic (1999)
- Denmark (1949)
Is the US helping the Taliban in Afghanistan?
The United States continues to engage with the Taliban to ensure that they fully comply with these commitments. Since the Taliban took power in August 2021, the United States has stopped providing aid for the reconstruction of Afghanistan.
Why does the US help Afghanistan? NATO allies entered Afghanistan after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States, to ensure that the country would not again become a safe haven for international terrorists to attack NATO member states.
Is the United States helping Afghanistan?
The United States is the single largest humanitarian donor in Afghanistan and has provided more than $774 million in humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan and to Afghans in the region since mid-August, including more than $573 million from USAID.
Did the US fight the Taliban?
The United States and its allies quickly drove the Taliban from power on December 17, 2001, and built military bases near major cities across the country. Most al-Qaeda and Taliban members were not captured but fled to neighboring Pakistan or retreated to rural or remote mountain areas during the Battle of Tora Bora.
What started the War in Afghanistan?
In 2001, an international coalition led by the United States invaded Afghanistan to destroy the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda when the Taliban refused to hand over Osama bin Laden. British forces moved in alongside American troops. At the height of the conflict, there were more than 130,000 NATO troops on the ground.
