Roza Otunbayeva, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and head of UNAMA, pledged during a National Conference on Microfinance Opportunities and Challenges, organized by the Central Bank, that they would collaborate in combating drugs and treating addicts.
Otunbayeva said that she has visited some rehabilitation centers for addicts and will work on providing livelihood resources for them.
The UN Special Representative in Afghanistan also stated: “We are working together for drug addicts and counter narcotics which is very important area of our activity. I have visited many drug addicts rehabilitation centers. We have to provide livelihood opportunities to these drug addicts. If we want to extract them out of drug addiction, microfinance can be one of the options and we can provide them with productive economic opportunities.”
During the conference, the acting Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Industry and Commerce requested the international community support Afghanistan’s infrastructure projects, agriculture, normalization of Afghanistan’s banking relations with international banks, and the establishment of small and medium-sized businesses.
Nooruddin Azizi, acting Minister of Industry and Commerce, said: “The nine billion dollars, more or less, that are frozen in Swiss and American banks—if you wish to support the private sector, this money is from the private sector. If these funds are returned to the private sector, they will be given back to the people, sparking economic activity within Afghanistan.”
Amir Khan Muttaqi, acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, also urged the international community to support infrastructure development in Afghanistan instead of providing humanitarian aid.
Amir Khan Muttaqi said: “The world should now cooperate with Afghanistan in three areas. We advocate for teaching Afghans how to fish instead of giving them fish, by sharing agricultural and industrial expertise with them. The world is advancing daily in technology and technical fields, and they should also help us in these areas. Investment should also be transferred here so we can work on it.”
Since the return of the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan, many international organizations have suspended their activities in Afghanistan, and global support has largely focused on humanitarian aid.
At the third Doha meeting, discussions were also held on supporting the private sector, lifting banking restrictions, and providing alternative crops to poppy cultivation in Afghanistan.