The Ministry of Economy (MoE) said that it has issued licenses to more than 300 private companies over the past year.

Speaking at an annual activity report press conference, deputy Minister of Economy, Abdul Latif Nazari, said that many investors have returned to the country and invested in various areas.

He said the Ministry of Economy has been trying to improve the economic situation and create jobs.

“Previous projects are facing financial problems-- we are trying to complete them via national income or to find help for them. There are some countries which have good relations with the Islamic Emirate,” he said.

A spokesman for the MoE, Abdul Rahman Habib, said that the MoE has issued licenses to more than 300 domestic and foreign private companies.

“309 private companies with 302 of them domestic companies and seven of them foreign companies have been legally allowed to work,” he said.

The economists said that the freezing of Afghan assets and the suspension of international aid and international sanctions are the main reasons for the ongoing poverty in the country.

“There should be an engagement with the international community to implement and complete the projects which have already started, so that these projects could be inaugurated and also so there will be job opportunities for the people to increase their income,” said Darya Khan Baheer, an economist.