Afghanistan

WRESTLING WITH A HUMANITARIAN DILEMMA IN AFGHANISTAN

The Taliban has recently banned Afghan women from attending university and working for NGOs, which
is damaging the country both socially and economically. Afghanistan relies heavily on humanitarian aid,
which not only saves lives but also stabilizes its economy. However, the aid donors and international
agencies face a dilemma because giving aid to alleviate suffering benefits the Taliban regime, which is
harming its own people. The United Nations provides around $40 million a week in cash shipments to
Afghanistan, which is used to pay for imports and purchase local goods and services. This aid provides
much-needed foreign funding to support Afghanistan's balance of payments, which is characterized by a
gap between imports and exports of roughly $4 billion per year. Afghanistan's aid dependency has
continued, and the situation for most Afghans is much more precarious now, making their dependence
on external aid just as great as or even greater than before.

CHINA’S OIL PRODUCTION DEAL WITH AFGHANISTAN

China and Afghanistan made a deal about producing oil on January 4th, 2023. China's Xinjiang Central
Asia Petroleum and Gas Company will invest $150 million in the first year and $540 million over the
following three years to explore five oil and gas blocks in Afghanistan. The Afghan government will get
15% royalty fees from this 25-year deal. This is the first major international contract since Western forces
left Afghanistan in August 2021.

China does not formally recognize Afghanistan's Taliban government, but it still signed a deal to produce
oil with them. China benefits from this deal because it helps diversify its energy sources. Afghanistan
benefits by getting jobs and money to improve their country. This deal shows that China wants to be a
leading player in post-war Afghanistan.

Afghanistan has many valuable mineral resources, but it is important for the country to have a reliable
source of revenue. Most investors have not wanted to invest in Afghanistan because of the Taliban's
beliefs, security issues, and the need for lots of money to rebuild the country.

China is being practical by investing a lot of money in Afghanistan's oil production. This shows that China
thinks the Taliban can overcome the challenges the country faces. The money Afghanistan gets from this
deal can be used to improve the country's living standards and security. China's investment might
encourage other investors to invest in Afghanistan.

China's investment in Afghanistan could be the most important outcome of this deal. China is known for
successful long-term planning, so this deal could be more realistic than people realize. China believes in
Afghanistan's ability to rebuild itself, and that's what Afghanistan needs most right now.