World Bank Vice President for the South Asia Region, Hartwig Schafer, in meetings with President Ashraf Ghani and the acting finance minister in the last three days has pledged to continue its assistance to Afghanistan within the framework of the commitments made in last year’s Geneva conference. 

According to the World Bank officials, in the discussions, the Afghan side committed to expedite efforts for reforms in the areas of services and development of private sector. 

World Bank has suggested the Afghan government encourage the private sector to expand its activities and make the necessary plans to attract foreign investments to help protect the achievements of the Afghan people. 

The organization has also called on the donor nations to continue their support to Afghanistan for another four years in the structure of Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund (ARTF). 

 Analysts said that World Bank’s continued support to Afghanistan’s financial sector is a key to fix the country’s economic situation. 

“The government needs to bring necessary reforms in various sectors because this can build mutual trust between the government and the international community, especially the World Bank,” said economist Sayed Massoud. 

“Schafer emphasized the Bank’s continued commitment to supporting COVID-19 recovery and progress toward a more resilient and peaceful future for the country,” said the statement. 

He also reviewed with international partners the commitments made at the Afghanistan Pledging Conference in 2020 and emphasized the need to support the Afghan government to accelerate reforms, strengthen the private sector, and maintain the delivery of public services.