ISTANBUL

Global donors, including European nations, were urged Friday to accelerate talks with the interim administration led by the Taliban in Kabul to mitigate the effects of US aid cuts in Afghanistan.

“US aid cuts are not likely to be reversed, so European and regional states should protect their interests by slowing the drawdown and mitigating its effects on Afghan livelihoods,” the International Crisis Group think tank said in a report on the war-torn nation.

“Donors should urgently accelerate talks with Taliban about economic recovery, allowing for exit strategies that preserve basic services,” it said.

The time is right for a more “realistic yet principled approach that prizes the well-being of Afghans over political aims that presently appear unachievable,” it said, exemplifying cost-effective ways to lessen poverty, including reducing aid programs to keep essentials, promoting job creation and unblocking trade, finance and infrastructure projects.

US President Donald Trump axed aid to Afghanistan and other nations earlier this year as part of his global policy.

Since the cuts, at least 422 health facilities have suspended services to date in Afghanistan, cutting off more than 3 million people, while water systems are failing without maintenance.

“At a minimum, donors should ease the legal and policy restrictions that stifle Afghanistan’s economic recovery. At best, countries that impose sanctions should rethink why those penalties are inflicted on Afghanistan and offer ways of ending the economic punishment,” it said.

Doing those things would save countless lives in Afghanistan but it could also “reduce the chances” of the crisis in Afghanistan spreading across borders, it said.

The report also touched upon China’s ability to help the Afghan economy, urging Beijing to strengthen mediation between Afghanistan and Pakistan, advance efforts to open its markets to Afghanistan by reducing tariffs, establishing industrial zones and promoting yuan-based trade, as well as conducting development projects such as mines and energy reserves.

Afghanistan has been struggling economically ever since the Taliban regained power in 2021, under sanctions and foreign aid downgrades.

Since the return to power by the Taliban in August 2021, the US has frozen billions in Afghan foreign assets.

Afghanistan has around $9 billion in foreign assets, with $7 billion in the US and the remainder concentrated in Germany, the United Arab Emirates and Switzerland.

The Afghan interim administration in August unveiled a five-year "Development Strategy” to create job opportunities and boost balanced development.