The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Gutteres has again expressed concern over the absence of cash in Afghanistan and has urged the international community to create conditions so the cash is injected into the economy of the war-torn country.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow on Tuesday, Guterres added that absence of cash and liquidity in Afghanistan the country’s economy might collapse which will have devastating consequences for the Afghan people.
“We have decided since the very beginning to engage actively with the Taliban and we have a massive humanitarian operation in Afghanistan, but we recognize that humanitarian aid is not enough.” Said Guterres.
The UN Secretary-General added that the UN has done much by itself by bringing banknotes by plane into Afghanistan which amounts to USD 500 million.
Further, Guterres added to be pushing the World Bank to disburse the amount of money foreseen for Afghanistan while announcing to be working with Afghanistan’s Central Bank and American Treasury so that obstacles for unfreezing funds be removed.
“We believe naturally that we need to do everything for the good of the people in Afghanistan, but we are also engaging with the Taliban very seriously in relation to the inclusivity of government and inclusivity between men and women, but also inclusivity in order for Uzbeks, Tajiks, Hazar, as it was said, to be fully included in the political process in Afghanistan,” Guterres added.
He hoped Afghanistan not become a base for terrorists and that ban on secondary schools for girls and working for women be lifted soon.
