Sending IDR 425 Billion Aid, China Urges World Bank And IMF To Immediately Help Afghanistan

Menlu China Wang Yi. (Wikimedia Commons / Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs)

JAKARTA - Chinese Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, urged the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to continue financing support to Afghanistan, which is short of money for construction.

The Taliban's takeover in August saw billions of dollars in central bank assets frozen, followed by international financial institutions suspending access to funds, although humanitarian aid continues.

Banks are running out of money, civil servants have not been paid and food prices are soaring. The IMF said on Tuesday that Afghanistan's economy would contract by up to 30 percent this year, potentially triggering a refugee crisis.

"Afghanistan needs revival on all fronts, and development is the top priority", said Foreign Minister Wang Yi, speaking via video link with foreign ministers of neighboring Afghanistan.

In addition, Foreign Minister Wang Yi renewed calls to the United States and other Western countries to lift unilateral sanctions against Afghanistan, asking the World Health Organization (WHO) to provide more vaccines and medical supplies to help Afghanistan fight COVID-19.

China has said it will send $30 million worth of emergency humanitarian aid to Afghanistan. Beijing also called on the international community to engage the Taliban, not isolate them.

"My overall impression is that the Taliban really want to have dialogue and cooperation with outsiders, and they are serious about this", said Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

China, which does not fight in Afghanistan, has given the Taliban a peace sign since they regained power in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of US troops in August.