US, Taliban Discuss Unlocking $3.5 Billion in Afghan Reserves
- US says central bank reserves must benefit Afghan people
- Nation continues to reel from crises of poverty and hunger
This article is for subscribers only.
A US delegation met with senior Taliban officials in Uzbekistan to discuss efforts to unfreeze some $3.5 billion in central bank reserves as the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan deteriorates.
The US delegation told the militant group and technocrats there was a need to accelerate efforts to unlock the reserves and reiterated the funds should be used to benefit the Afghan people, according to a Department of State readout on Thursday. Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West and Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson led the US side.