The Taliban will turn former foreign military bases into special economic zones for businesses, the acting deputy prime minister for economic affairs informed, as per news agency Reuters. Earlier, the ministry had informed that it was working on the plan and had submitted it to both the economic committee led by acting deputy PM Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and to the cabinet for approval.
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“Following a thorough discussion, it was decided that the Ministry of Industry and Commerce should progressively take control of the remaining military bases of the foreign forces with the intention of converting them into special economic zones,” Mullah Baradar said as per Reuters adding that the pilot plan would begin to convert bases in the capital Kabul and in northern Balkh province.
This comes as Afghanistan’s economy struggles with aid agencies warning of a severe humanitarian crisis since the Taliban took over in 2021 after US troop withdrawal which resulted in the freezing of foreign-held central bank assets and sanctions enforced on the banking sector.
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Although, the Taliban have said that they are focused on boosting economic self-sufficiency through trade and investment. Earlier, the World Bank noted that Afghanistan’s exports rose and the Taliban administration managed to keep revenues mostly steady in 2022.
