TAPI Project Stalled Due to Disagreement Between Turkmenistan, Contractors

Although a meeting on Wednesday in Islamabad was expected to see the contract for construction of the Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline (TAPI) project finalized, disagreement between negotiators from the government of Turkmenistan and the contract recipients prevented the deal's completion, once again...

Parliament Approves National Budget

The Wolesi Jirga (Lower House of the Parliament) approved the national budget for the next fiscal year with majority of votes on Wednesday simultaneously suspending the budget allocated for the offices of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Abdullah Abdullah and economic advisory. The budget for the next...

India responds to the ongoing Afghan-Pak transit issues

India offers to allow Afghan trucks (carrying their export products) to directly unload at its Integrated Check Post in Attari. This comes as Afghan traders are faced with ongoing transit issues with Pakistan and both nations are negotiating better implementation of the Afghanistan Pakistan Transit...

Ministry of Commerce to fix price of gas in Kabul

The Ministry of Commerce has promised to hold a meeting with private sector representatives to fix the price of liquefied gas in Kabul. This comes as the price of gas remains high in some areas of Kabul, while it has plummeted to 42 AFN per kilo in most parts of the city. Some residents have...

Afghan government seeks bailout from donors to pay salaries

The Afghan government has asked donors for a bailout before the end of the year, as salary payments to government employees are still pending. The national treasury has run out of money to pay salaries this month and has called on international donors for a bailout. Mohammad Aqa Kohestani, head of...

Kabul to receive USD 529mn worth of annual development aid from Germany

The German parliament voted on Friday to support Kabul with annual development aid worth USD 529mn. In a meeting with Afghan President Dr. Ashraf Ghani in Berlin, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged to support Afghanistan’s unity government after withdrawal of the foreign troops by...

Time for Afghanistan and Pakistan to open new trade avenues

Lahore Chief Minister Munhammad Shahbaz Sharif and Afghan Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal conferred on promoting bilateral trade and economic cooperation in a meeting on Thursday. Shahbaz said that it was time for Pakistan and Afghanistan to open new trade avenues and benefit from the existing opportunities...

China urges BRICS to open development bank soon

China has called on the BRICS group of emerging economies to intensify efforts to open a development bank as an alternative to the Western-dominated global financial system. Speaking on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Australia on Saturday, China's Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao...

USAID Offers 75 Million USD to Ministry of Finance

Officials at the Afghan Ministry of Finance (MoF) on Tuesday reported that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has made available 75 million USD in aid, so that the government can ensure salary payments for all public employees are paid. The money is the response to the...

Afghan Mobile Business event announces winners of Afghanistan�s first smartphone app competition

The winners of Afghanistan’s first smartphone app awards were announced in Kabul at the Afghan Mobile Business even on Thursday. The event, which concludes 1st November with a job fair, was organized by the Faculty of Economics of Kabul University in cooperation with the Faculty of Computer...

Afghan state-owned businesses revenue decline by 90%

Afghan Ministry of Finance officials have reported a 90% decline in the revenue of state-owned businesses. State-owned businesses have recorded revenue of 377mn AFN this year compared with 3.4bn AFN last year. This brings up the old question of privatizing state-owned businesses, which was proposed...

Ministry of Public Works $22.3 million road maintenance project

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) on October 20 announced a $22.3 million project to help the Afghan Ministry of Public Works maintain Afghanistan’s roads. The three-year project will help the Ministry create three departments: a road authority to oversee maintenance...

Afghanistan a priority country for WFP

Afghanistan is one of the priority countries for WFP as more than 7.5 million people are food insecure. Every year through the implementation of various projects, WFP delivers food assistance to millions of Afghans across the country. This includes internally displaced people due to conflict, natural...

Afghanistan, Pakistan sign agreement on electricity transit fee

An agreement was signed between Afghanistan and Pakistan on Saturday to set electricity transit fees from Central Asia to South Asia. The will facilitate transmission of cheaper electricity from Central Asia to the South Asian country. The agreement is part of the Central Asia South Asia Electricity...

Japan funds mine clearance operations in Afghanistan

The Japanese government has provided USD 696,310 to HALO Afghanistan for mine clearance operations in North and Central regions of Afghanistan. The fund will allow HALO to employ 108 trained de-miners to carry out mine clearance operations in selected minefields in Takhar, Baghlan and Parwan. The...

Afghanistan�s new unity government to serve as a green signal for investors

Afghanistan’s industrialists are optimistic about the formation of the new unity government and believe it might boost foreign investment. Addressing a press conference in Kabul on Saturday, Deputy Head of the Afghanistan Association of Industrialists (AAI) called on the new government for...

Smuggling to Pakistan hikes gas prices in Kandahar

Gas dealers in southern Kandahar province have urged the Afghan government to halt the smuggling of liquefied gas to Pakistan. The unchecked smuggling of liquefied gas to Pakistan has resulted in increased prices of gas due to shortage in the supply of gas. Prices of gas usually see a jump in the...

Number of tourists visiting Qargha Lake declines

Afghanistan’s favorite tourist resort has witnessed a 90% drop in its revenue due to a significant decrease in the number of tourists. This follows after last month’s gang-rape incident where 4 women were brutally raped after their vehicle was intercepted on the main road in Paghman...

India signs agreement for construction Kandahar cricket stadium

The Indian ambassador to Afghanistan Amar Sinha signed an agreement for the revival of Kandahar cricket stadium. The signing ceremony was also attended by economy minister Abdul Hadi Arghandiwal, higher education minister Obaidullah Obaid and Afghanistan cricket board chief executive Dr. Noor Mohammad...

Afghan Energy Watchdog Reports Steep Drop in Extraction Revenues

The Afghan Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (AEITI) has released a report arguing that the revenues from Afghanistan's resource extraction industries over the past five years have plummeted from 286 million AFS to three million AFS. The AEITI report also suggests there have been...

Final report of Afghanistan National Development Strategy published with key support from Germany

As the report states, about two-thirds of the development objectives outlined in the strategy have been achieved. In particular, the health sector reached 88% of its target measures between 2008 and 2013. The quality of healthcare has improved, access has too and the children’s health system...

4 irrigation projects to be launched in Ghor

Work on four irrigation projects in Ghor province has officially begun with financial collaboration from the Afghan Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD). Costing 7.4mn AFN, the projects will be implemented in different villages of Dawlatyar, Lal and Sar Jangal and Feroz Koh districts. The...

Afghanistan GDP growth indicates a 6.4% spike

According to a report by the Central Statistics Organization(CSO), Afghanistan’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) showed a promising growth for the past fiscal year at 6.4%. Standing at USD 21.2bn, the figure brings some hope and optimism to the rather bleak Afghan economy’s future. CSO President...

Reconstruction work begins on basic healthcare centre in Baghlan with German support

Reconstruction work began on the Guzarga-e-Noor district basic healthcare centre in Baghlan with financial and technical support from Afghan-German Cooperation. With over AFN 10 million in funding, the measures will help modernize the healthcare centre that provides services for almost 10,000...

Afghanistan close to be blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)

Afghanistan was threatened by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) earlier this year for failing to pass key measures on combating money laundering. The threat by FATF, an international body that sets standards on how countries combat money laundering, is close to become real as several countries...

Afghan, Tajik trade turnover 59.6% lower than last year

Tajikistan’s Minister of Economic Development and Trade Sharif Rahimzoda and Afghanistan’s Minister of Commerce Mohammad Shakir Kargar exchanged perspectives on the development of economic cooperation between the two nations at a meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. This comes as the trade...

Honey production increases in Herat Province

Officials at the Agriculture Department in Herat Province have reported of noticeable increase in honey production in the province. More than 20 tons of honey has been produced in the past one year and officials expect the amount to increase further this year. “Of a total of three thousand...

ACCI:
Security remains an impediment to economic growth

A latest report by the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) has revealed that security still remains a major threat to the country’s economic growth. The report was based on a survey and interview of entrepreneurs in four provinces: Kabul, Kandahar, Balkh and Nangarhar. Security...

Turkmenistan to export 300MW of electricity to Afghanistan

Officials of Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), Afghanistan’s national power utility, have reported of 300MW of electricity to be imported from Turkmenistan. An agreement to that effect was signed between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan earlier this week. DABS spokesperson Waheedullah Tawhidi...

Major international aid conference to be held on Afghanistan

The Afghan government is expecting to organize a major international conference which will focus on Afghan government’s accountability towards the international aid committed during the Tokyo conference and to attract further aid to Afghanistan. The major international conference is expected...