War was the engine of the Afghan economy, and as such the country’s economic decline begun already in 2014 when the military withdrawal began. International aid contributed to a significant percentage of the Afghan national budget and following international sanctions and a significant cut in aid – Afghanistan was hit by an economic shock immediately following the Taliban takeover.
An increase in humanitarian aid in the autumn of 2021, and throughout 2022 contributed to stabilizing the economy and prevented a full collapse of the banking system. War and conflict in Ukraine and Gaza, the uncompromising politics of the Taliban when it comes to education for girls and women, as well as the lack of respect for human rights, are now resulting in reduced humanitarian aid as well. With the politics pursued by the Taliban – the Afghan population has been left to fend for themselves.
In this seminar we want to explore what opportunities and limitations there are for economic growth in Afghanistan, including the possibilities that lie within minerals and farming, the consequences and limitations following the international sanctions, the opportunities surrounding trade with China, and the room of opportunity for women and entrepreneurship.
Speakers
- Assem Mayar, Researcher, Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF)
- Rayana Karim, CEO of The Khadijah Project
- Terje Watterdal, Country Director for the Norwegian Afghanistan Commitee (NAC)
- William Byrd, Senior Afghanistan Expert at U.S. Institute of Peace
The panel will be moderated by Karim Merchant, Adviser for policy and project development
From the left: William Byrd, Assem Mayar, Rayana Karim, Terje Watterdal and Karim Merchant. Photo: Nansen Fredssenter / Henrik Jarholm
