Biden Administration Commits To $7B Afghan Asset Talks As UN Warns Nearly 20M People Face 'Acute Hunger' Under Taliban Rule

Washington is planning to transfer billions of dollars in Afghanistan's foreign-held assets to help stabilize its collapsed economy.

What Happened: U.S. President Joe Biden's administration, in order to aid Afghanistan's dwindling economy, will be transferring billions in foreign-held Afghan central bank assets into a proposed Swiss-based trust fund, three sources with knowledge of the situation told Reuters.

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There has been a growing concern over a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime. The United Nations has also warned that nearly half of its 40 million population faces "acute hunger" as winter approaches.

The report noted that the fund's disbursements would be made with the help of an international board and bypass the Taliban, whose many leaders have been sanctioned by the U.S. and the U.N.

Days after U.S. Central Intelligence Agency’s drone strike killed al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, the U.S. State Department and Treasury officials told independent analysts that they would pursue the talks despite frustration with the pace.

A source added that the Taliban and Afghan central bank are not cooperating with the talks; "the Taliban sit on their hands, and it's infuriating."

Afghanistan's economic and humanitarian crises worsened after the Taliban seized Kabul, which led to countries, including the U.S., halting aid that funded 70% of the government budget. Washington also effectively paralyzed Afghanistan's banking system and froze $7 billion in Afghan assets in the U.S. Federal Reserve.

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