The Afghan Ministry of Finance said Afghanistan owes about $2.3 billion to various countries and international organisations.

These loans have funded projects in Afghanistan and many of them are zero-interest loans, the ministry said.

The Ministry of Finance expects that most of these loans will be written off.

"These loans have been given to Afghanistan with on good terms, on a long-term basis, and will be used only for administrative activities," Ministry of Finance spokesman Aziz Shams said.

Most of the loans given to Afghanistan between 1966 and 2008 have been forgiven or paid back.

Some finance experts believe that if loans are well spent on good projects, they benefit the country taking the loan.

However, finance expert Shir Ali Tezri believe this has not been the case in Afghanistan.

"I can say that in Afghanistan, it is not only loans but also grants that have been misused," Mr Tezri said. "We have not been able to spend the money in a proper and useful way."

Many countries have forgiven their loans to Afghanistan.

The biggest loan was from the Soviet Union which was forgiven by the Paris Club. Meanwhile, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the World Bank , the International Monetary Fund and the United States have forgiven more than $1.5 billion of loans to Afghanistan.

What Afghanistan owes:

Russia - $987 million

Asian Development Bank - $ 596 million

World Bank - $435 million

International Monetary Fund - $114 million

Germany - $18 million

Saudi Development Fund - $47 million

Islamic Development Bank - $11 million

Bulgaria - $51 million

Kuwait Development Fund - $22 million

Iran - $10 million

Opec - $1.8 million