US announces 'Afghan fund' to benefit people of Afghanistan

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US announced Wednesday the creation of a fund to benefit Afghans in coordination with its international partners.

"The United States remains committed to supporting the people of Afghanistan amidst ongoing economic and humanitarian crises," said State Department.

It said with an executive order, President Joe Biden set a policy of enabling $3.5 billion of Afghan central bank reserves to be used for the benefit of the Afghan people 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 that $3.5 billion to help provide greater stability to the Afghan economy," said the statement.

It stressed that the Taliban are not a part of the "Afghan Fund," which intends to address the acute effects of Afghanistan’s economic and humanitarian crises.

"The Afghan Fund will maintain its account with the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) based in Switzerland,” it said. “An external auditor will monitor and audit the Afghan Fund as required by Swiss law.”

Wally Adeyemo, US deputy secretary of the Treasury, said the 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.

"Through this Fund, the United States will work closely with our international partners to facilitate use of these assets to improve the lives of ordinary people in Afghanistan," said Adeyemo.

Income and economic output in Afghanistan have fallen by 20% to 30%, imports have declined by approximately 40% and about 70% of Afghan households report they are unable to meet basic food or non-food needs, according to the World Bank.