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1/19/2022

READOUT: Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo’s Meeting with CEOs of NGOs Operating in Afghanistan | …

READOUT: Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo’s
Meeting with CEOs of NGOs Operating in Afghanistan
January 18, 2022

WASHINGTON – Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo met today with CEOs and
other executives of several nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) operating in Afghanistan
to discuss the continued flow of humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan.
Deputy Secretary Adeyemo discussed the urgent challenges facing the humanitarian sector
and ongoing issues in working to stabilize the Afghan economy. He underscored Treasuryʼs
commitment to supporting the people of Afghanistan and seeking solutions to mitigate the
humanitarian challenges on the ground while preventing the flow of funds to illicit activities.
The CEOs shared that the General Licenses issued by Treasury have helped facilitate the flow
of humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan and highlighted the need to
encourage additional financial and commercial activity in the country. Deputy Secretary
Adeyemo reiterated that there are no comprehensive sanctions on Afghanistan and that no
OFAC-administered sanctions prohibit the export or reexport of goods or services to
Afghanistan, moving or sending money into and out of Afghanistan, or other activities in
Afghanistan, provided that such transactions or activities do not involve sanctioned
individuals, entities, or property in which sanctioned individuals and entities have an interest.
The Deputy Secretary also noted that Treasury is aware of the challenges posed by bank derisking and will continue to provide clarity on the scope of U.S. sanctions to banks and other
financial institutions.
The Deputy Secretary o ered to increase communication with financial institutions engaging
in or interested in doing business in Afghanistan to help get resources into the country as
quickly as possible. He also highlighted that the U.S. is working with international financial
institutions (IFIs), NGOs, and others to get liquidity into the country for humanitarian
purposes and will continue to stress the need for IFIs and others to support the people of
Afghanistan. Just last week, the U.S. government announced it would send an additional $308
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1/19/2022

READOUT: Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo’s Meeting with CEOs of NGOs Operating in Afghanistan | …

million to Afghanistan, bringing total U.S. humanitarian aid to more than $780 million since
October. Overall, including aid provided by the World Bank and Asian Development Bank,
Treasury has worked to make approximately $2 billion available in humanitarian aid to
Afghanistan in the near-term.
While aid remains critical, Deputy Secretary Adeyemo underscored that Afghanistan will
continue to face severe economic and humanitarian challenges regardless of the amount of
aid provided due to longstanding structural challenges and the Talibanʼs economic
mismanagement. So long as the Taliban continues to repress human rights and drive essential
technical experts and government o icials—including those who work for Afghanistanʼs
central bank and financial institutions—out of the country, Afghanistanʼs economy will
continue to struggle without proper governance and management.
Since August, Treasury has hosted several meetings with NGOs at all levels to solicit feedback
and provide technical assistance with regard to Afghanistan. The next NGO meeting will be
held later this month.

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