Baradar urges world to lift banking restrictions on Afghanistan

KABUL (Pajhwok): Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar has urged the international community and international financial institutions to lift financial and banking restrictions imposed on Afghanistan.

He said the restrictions had hampered foreign investments in the country.

Addressing a conference titled “Attracting Investment & Supporting Afghanistan’s Power Sector” on Saturday, the deputy premier said Afghanistan had vast capacity for large, medium and small-scale investments.

He described the country as resource-rich due to its abundance of raw materials.

He added that Afghanistan, in addition to other resources, possessed extensive hydro, wind and solar energy potential. Effective utilisation of these resources would not only make Afghanistan self-sufficient in electricity but also enable it to export energy to other countries.

The deputy premier said holding such conferences was important for showcasing investment opportunities in the power sector, attracting domestic and foreign investors, discussing challenges, proposing solutions and engaging in broad-based dialogue.

He expressed the hope that the gathering would conclude with practical and applicable outcomes.

Mullah Baradar reiterated his call on the international community and financial institutions to lift the restrictions placed on Afghanistan, arguing that such limitations had negatively impacted foreign investment — to the detriment of Afghanistan, the region and the world.

The conference was attended by members of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) cabinet, the energy ministers of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, representatives of the United Nations in Afghanistan, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the UN Development Programme, several embassies, domestic and foreign private sector officials, non-governmental organisations and renewable energy supporters.

The event is aimed at highlighting Afghanistan’s potential and opportunities in the power sector, ensuring sustainable attraction of domestic and foreign investors, identifying challenges and providing solutions, enhancing technical knowledge, strengthening cooperation between the public, private and international sectors, and paving the way for regional energy connectivity.