Islamabad: The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) on Monday signed the charter of the Humanitarian Trust Fund for Afghanistan to ease the suffering of millions of Afghan people.
The trust fund would serve as a vehicle to channel humanitarian and development assistance to Afghanistan.
The charter was signed in Islamabad ahead of the 48th session OIC Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) summit in Islamabad on March 22-23. OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha and President IsDB Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser signed the charter witnessed by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
“This is the first but very pivotal step that will pave the way for operationalisation of Afghanistan Humanitarian Trust Fund (AHTF)” said the Islamic Development Bank president said. The creation of the fund was one of the key outcomes of the 17th extraordinary session of the OIC foreign ministers’ meeting in Islamabad on December 19, 2021. OIC asked the IsDB to establish, operationalise and manage AHTF to channel humanitarian assistance to Afghan people. “Working closely with the OIC and international community, we are committed to serve, to facilitate and expedite the humanitarian efforts to relieve the suffering of our Afghan brothers and sisters,” Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser said at the signing ceremony.
Since 76 per cent of Afghanistan’s population lives in rural areas, the primary focus of the fund would be to save lives and protect rural livelihoods. Other key areas of focus will be agricultural productivity to promote food security, supporting small and medium enterprises to create local employment and ensuring access to quality education, especially for women.
Addressing the ceremony, Foreign Minister Qureshi emphasized that the dire humanitarian situation in Afghanistan warranted urgent action. He requested the OIC member states, the Islamic Financial Institutions, donors and other international partners to pledge donations to the Trust Fund, recalling the OIC’s decision to play a leading role in the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.
Pakistan has announced humanitarian aid worth Rs5 billion ($28 million) to Afghanistan in addition to its continued, multi-faceted economic and developmental assistance for the neighbouring country,
OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha thanked IsDB for answering the call from OIC and helping set up the fund. The fund signifies “OIC’s support for Afghanistan” and “aims to support Afghan people” and to contribute to creating livelihoods.
Earlier this month, Nigeria announced the generous donation of US$1 million to the OIC-led trust fund for Afghanistan.
