Members of the Afghan Business Council in the United Arab Emirates met with German Chargé d’Affaires Rolf Dieter Reinhard to discuss the challenges facing Afghanistan’s private sector. The meeting took place on Thursday in Dubai, according to the council.
During the talks, Afghan business leaders highlighted the significant hurdles created by international sanctions on Afghanistan’s banking system following the Taliban’s return to power.
Earlier this week, Obaidullah Sader Khail, chairman of the Afghan Business Council, along with other members of Afghanistan’s business community, also met with David William Sproule, Canada’s special representative to Afghanistan, to address similar concerns.
International sanctions on Afghanistan, particularly those freezing the country’s central bank assets, have left businesses struggling to access capital.
While the U.S. and the European Union have stressed that these measures are aimed at individuals within the Taliban’s financial system, including the Taliban’s central bank chief Noor Ahmad Agha—who remains on the UN blacklist—Afghan business leaders argue that the broader economy is bearing the brunt of these restrictions.
