The United States and the Taliban plan talks Thursday in Qatar on unlocking some of Afghanistan’s reserves following a devastating earthquake, officials said, with Washington seeking ways to ensure the money goes to help the population.
The White House said it is working “urgently” on the effort, but a member of the Afghan central bank’s board said it could take time to finalise.
The Taliban’s foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, arrived in the Qatari capital Doha along with finance ministry and central bank officials for talks, Taliban foreign ministry spokesman Hafiz Zia Ahmed said.
The State Department said its envoy on Afghanistan, Tom West, would take part and said the United States was focused on a range of interests including human rights and opening schools for girls.
“None of these engagements should be seen as ‘legitimising’ the Taliban or its so-called government but are a mere reflection of the reality that we need to have such discussions in order to advance US interests,” said a spokesperson for the US State Department, which does not recognize Taliban rule over Afghanistan.
The Taliban took over in August 2021 after the United States gave up a 20-year military effort.
Washington at the time froze $7 billion in reserves and the international community halted billions in direct aid that Afghanistan and its population of roughly 40 million people had relied on.
The currency has collapsed and the country descended into a serious economic crisis, although some assistance has been restored.
Last week’s 5.9-magnitude earthquake in eastern Afghanistan, which killed more than 1,000 people and left tens of thousands homeless, adds urgency to the funding debate.
“Negotiations are underway and it is our expectation that a final proposal under discussion will be finalised,” said Shah Mehrabi, member of the Supreme Council of the Central Bank of Afghanistan.
However, details on “the mechanism to transfer the reserves to the Central Bank has not been finalised,” he told AFP.
“It is going to take a while. These things do not happen overnight.”
