Part 3
By Ayyub
A Self-Sufficient Economy
After establishing lasting security across the whole country, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has taken important, major steps in developing the economy and infrastructure. The economy that, during the occupation, relied heavily on foreign aid, where any shift in donor countries’ politics could reach right down and affect the lives of millions of people, has now taken a new path, one built on growing domestic revenue, making use of internal resources, expanding production, and drawing in regional investment.
This shift doesn’t just show the IEA’s efforts to reduce dependency on the outside world, it can also lay the ground for building more lasting economic foundations and for picturing a brighter future for the country.
In this area, the drafting and approval of Afghanistan’s Five-Year Development Strategy counts as an important step. This strategy treats good governance, the rule of sharia law, and the establishment of security and public order as key foundations for the country’s economic and social development, and works to carry economic programs forward within an organized, purposeful framework. The preparation of the 1405 fiscal year’s development budget, built on this same document’s programs, also shows real attention being paid to long-term planning and to drawing up a clear map for the country’s economic development.
In mining and petroleum, wide-ranging work has gone into identifying, extracting, and benefiting from Afghanistan’s natural resources. New mineral-rich areas have been identified and registered, numerous projects have gone out for bidding, and operating licenses have been issued for a number of projects. Alongside creating job opportunities, these steps can play an important role in growing domestic revenue, developing related industries, and making better use of the country’s natural resources.
Wide-ranging activity has taken place in industry and trade too. New factories have started operating, the ground has been prepared for developing domestic industries, and customs facilities have been considered for certain raw materials and industrial machinery. At the same time, Afghanistan’s trade with regional countries has expanded, and efforts are underway to create more facilities for exports, investment, and the presence of the private sector. The Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MOCI) has also announced the signing of numerous trade and investment agreements and contracts with various companies and countries, which can lay the ground for bringing capital into Afghanistan and expanding the country’s economic relations.
On infrastructure, the Qosh Tepa Canal project ranks among the important economic and agricultural projects of recent years. Work on this project continues using domestic resources, and its completion could bring a large portion of agricultural land in the north of the country under irrigation. Alongside expanding agriculture and farmland, this project could play an important role in creating jobs, strengthening food security, and better managing water resources.
In agriculture and livestock, various programs have been carried out to increase domestic production. The distribution of improved seeds, the expansion of fruit orchards, the extension of new irrigation systems, support for farmers, and the purchase of agricultural produce are among the steps taken in this area. In livestock too, increased domestic production can play an effective role in meeting people’s food needs and reducing dependence on imports.
Another important matter in Afghanistan’s economy is protecting the afghani’s value against foreign currencies. Da Afghanistan Bank has worked, through monetary policy and managing the currency market, to prevent sharp fluctuations and maintain the stability of the national currency. This matter, particularly under conditions of financial constraints and international sanctions, is counted by economic officials among the important achievements of recent years.
Of course, detailed figures and numbers about all these many activities exist within ministries, directorates, and related institutions, and officials have shared these reports with the people through press conferences and various programs. That’s why in this article we’ve focused on the substance of these activities and the general course of progress, rather than listing every detailed figure.
But since the country’s liberation from the grip of foreigners and their hired agents, certain hostile media outlets, groups, and destructive individuals have tried to paint Afghanistan’s economy within a frame of collapse, deadlock, and mismanagement, ignoring the IEA’s wide economic and construction activities to suggest the country has come to a standstill because of the change in political system. This narrative doesn’t match the facts on the ground.
If Afghanistan’s economy really were headed toward collapse, how could anyone explain the continuation of major infrastructure projects, the expansion of mining activities, the launch and growth of factories, the growth of trade and investment ties with regional countries, the rollout of broad agricultural programs, and the effort to maintain the national currency’s stability? Under conditions where the country faced a sharp decline in foreign aid, financial and banking restrictions, sanctions, and the freezing of a portion of national assets, the IEA has managed to keep the structure of domestic revenue active, keep major national projects moving, and steer parts of the economy away from heavy dependence on foreign aid and toward domestic resources and capacities.
Even though serious problems remain with poverty, unemployment, and people’s standard of living, everything laid out above shows that the picture presented by certain hostile media outlets isn’t a complete or unbiased picture of Afghanistan’s economy. We can’t deny economic hardship, but that hardship also can’t be blown up so large that it erases all the activity, investment, infrastructure projects, and government efforts underway to build an economy on domestic foundations.
The realities on the ground show that Afghanistan’s economy, despite all its problems, hasn’t stopped and hasn’t collapsed. It’s passing through a difficult stage and moving toward an economy where the share of domestic revenue, production, mining, agriculture, trade, and investment keeps growing larger by the day. In truth, the sum of all these steps reflects the IEA’s efforts to build the foundations of an independent economic system and move Afghanistan toward becoming a prosperous, strong, and self-sufficient country.
