20 January 2004
Dear Colleagues,
The Bank Information Center (BIC) is pleased to announce the release of its first report on international financial institution (IFI) activities in Afghanistan:
Rush to Reengagement in Afghanistan:
The IFIs’ Post-Conflict Agenda (With a Special Focus on the National Solidarity Program)
The report summarizes World Bank, Asian Development Bank, and International Monetary Fund activities in Afghanistan post-9/11. These institutions were absent for 23 years following the 1979 Soviet invasion when they ceased lending to Afghanistan and withdrew from the country. They have now reengaged and assumed preeminent positions in determining Afghanistan’s future.
In evaluating IFI reengagement, BIC reviewed IFI project documents and conducted interviews in Washington and Kabul with officials of the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, non-governmental organizations, UN organizations, the Islamic Transitional State of Afghanistan, and the media.
The report focuses on two main issues:
- IFI influence on rapid rewriting of major sectoral policies in the absence of a representative government.
- The World Bank-financed National Solidarity Program, a nationwide program designed to provide communities with block grants for small-scale development projects.
Supplemental information, summaries of IFI projects in Afghanistan and links to relevant documents are posted on BIC’s Web site.
BIC’s Afghanistan Report: www.bicusa.org/bicusa/issues/Afghanistan_Report_Trip1.pdf (Acrobat pdf 502 KB)
This report is the first in a series. In addition to further reviews of IFI projects and policies, research under BIC’s Afghanistan Project will include analysis of U.S. policy and support to frontline states in the war on terror, updates on IFI activities in Afghanistan, and initiatives to strengthen the capacity of Afghan civil society to influence IFI activities.
The Bank Information Center, founded in 1987, is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization that aims to empower citizens in developing countries to influence World Bank and other Multilateral Development Bank (MDB) activities in a manner that fosters social justice and ecological sustainability. BIC advocates for greater citizen participation, transparency, and public accountability.
Funding for BIC’s Afghanistan Project is provided by the Ford Foundation.
If you would like to subscribe or unsubscribe from BIC’s Afghanistan Project mailing list, please e-mail , Coordinator for the Afghanistan Project.
Kind regards,
Manish Bapna
Executive Director