G20 pledges aid for Afghans, tasks UN with coordination

Rome, Oct 12 (EFE).- G20 members on Tuesday agreed to allocate economic aid to Afghanistan to alleviate the severe crisis Kabul has experienced since the Taliban swept back to power in August.

Leaders tasked the United Nations with coordinating the help, in a process that will require the participation of the Taliban.

“There is a great willingness to act (…) This has resulted in a general mandate to the United Nations to coordinate the response,” Italian prime minister Mario Draghi said at a presser.

During the virtual event – organized by Italy, which holds the rotating G20 presidency – the European Commission pledged 1 billion euros in aid, while US President Joe Biden vowed to increase funds to Afghans by $300 million, Draghi said.

The aid must be coordinated with the UN, which will now have to establish a “roadmap to proceed quickly” with investments in the Central Asian country.

Since the Taliban got back to power on 15 August after the withdrawal of the US troops, Afghanistan has been denied access to international funds, which aggravated the ongoing crisis.

G20 also considered measures such as securing the Kabul airport, tracking migrations, involving neighboring countries and preventing its “economic collapse”, especially its banking and payments system.

“For the moment we must respond to the humanitarian crisis and that will obviously require contacts with the Taliban, there is no alternative,” the premier said.

 “Contacts with the Taliban are essential for this response. But this does not mean an acknowledgment,” he added.

The UN data show that the crisis has had an impact on half of Afghanistan’s 36 million inhabitants have been.