Taliban Official Calls On UK To Help Release Frozen Central Bank Assets
Robert Dickson, Chargé d'Affaires of the British Embassy in Afghanistan, met with members of the Taliban's Chamber of Commerce.
Robert Dickson, Chargé d'Affaires of the British Embassy in Afghanistan, met with members of the Taliban's Chamber of Commerce.
Younus Mohmand, the deputy head of the chamber, asked the chargé d'affaires of the British embassy for London’s support in release of the foreign exchange reserves of the Taliban's central bank.
Bakhtar News Agency reported the meeting took place in Kabul on Monday. The deputy head of the Taliban's chamber of commerce promised the chargé d'affaires of the British embassy, who is based in Qatar, that the Taliban has taken steps to improve relations with the world.
Britain does not recognise the Taliban government and has stated that normal relations between the Taliban and London is conditional on the observance of human rights, especially women's rights.
Younus Mohmand told the British envoy that Afghanistan is a bridge between South and Central Asia .
This is not the first time that Taliban officials have insisted on the release of Afghanistan's frozen assets. Earlier, Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban's foreign minister, had repeatedly asked for the release of the assets.
After the Taliban’s return to power, more than $9 billion of Afghanistan's assets were frozen in European and American banks.
On November 21, 2022, the United States established a trust fund in Switzerland to protect the asset and transferred $3.5 billion of Afghanistan's foreign exchange reserves to the fund.
The purpose of the fund is to strengthen financial and monetary stability and to confront Afghanistan's economic crisis.
Also, this fund helps to provide sufficient financial resources to prevent a liquidity crisis, pay for electricity imports, printing new passports and banknotes, among others.
Robert Dickson has not released a statement about his meeting. On Friday, September 28, he met with a number of Afghan investors and entrepreneurs in Kabul.
"Strengthening the private sector provides opportunities for women oppressed by the Taliban," he wrote.
