Assistance To Be Resisted And Face Isolation Due To Limitation, Taliban: We Will Start Swasembada, Iran's Investment Lyrics To Russia And China

Illustration of the Taliban project, Afghanistan. (Twitter/@Zabehullah_M33)

JAKARTA - The Taliban government will encourage self-sufficiency, targeting international trade and investment, the acting minister of trade said, as Afghanistan faces isolation and suspension of humanitarian aid due to restrictions on women.

"We will start a national self-sufficiency program, we will encourage all government administrations to use domestic products. We will also try to encourage people through mosques to support our domestic products," Haji Nooruddin Azizi told Reuters, as quoted January 2.

"We will support whatever goods can help us to be self-sufficient."

Another part of the Taliban's strategy is to increase foreign trade and investment, he said.

"Those who import goods into Afghanistan from abroad ask us to give them the opportunity to invest in Afghanistan and they want to invest here rather than import from abroad," he explained.

He said countries such as Iran, Russia, and China were interested in trade and investment.

He explained that several projects under discussion were Chinese industrial parks and power plants, with the involvement of Russia and Iran.

Facing the lack of formal recognition and sanctions that hinder the country's banking sector, investors are faced with increased security concerns following attacks on foreign targets in Kabul, claimed by ISIS.

Azizi said the authorities were working to ensure security.

"We are trying our best so that our entrepreneurs are not harmed. The attack will not have a bad impact, (but) if it happens continuously, it may have a bad impact," he said, referring to the investment environment.

Azizi menyusun rencana untuk mengembangkan industri, dengan menciptakan zona ekonomi khusus di tanah yang sebelumnya digunakan untuk basar militer Amerika Serikat.

He said his ministry was presenting the plan to the government cabinet and the economic commission.

He added that foreign investors showed interest in the Afghanistan mining sector, which is worth more than $1 trillion.

In addition, a large contract signed with Russia in September for gas, oil and wheat supplies will see shipments of goods to Afghanistan in the coming days.

The Taliban-led government is facing increased isolation of policies in recent days limiting women from access to public life, including lectures.

An order banning female NGO workers from making the humanitarian sector, which provides urgent assistance to millions of people, fall apart, with several organizations suspending its operations amid harsh winters.

Azizi did not comment on the new restrictions, but said his ministry had allocated 5 hectares of land to a permanent exhibition center and a women-led business center.

"We always support female investors," he concluded.