Economists’ Letter In Support of Release of Frozen Afghan Central Bank Reserves

EPS Board of Trustees member and Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz and Board of Directors Member-at-Large Mark Weisbrot are among the original signers of a letter that calls for the release of Afghanistan’s central bank reserves, currently frozen by the US government. They write:

It has now been nearly one year since the Biden administration began blocking the central bank of Afghanistan from accessing its roughly $7 billion in international reserves held in the United States. In that time, Afghanistan's financial system has ground nearly to a halt, its economy has been collapsing, and millions of its people have been plunged into poverty and face severe hunger. This is a crucial time because the US government is currently negotiating with the government of Afghanistan for the release of at least half of these funds.

As economists, we understand that this economy cannot properly function without a central bank, and a central bank cannot properly function without international reserves.

The final letter is available here.