The COVID-19 pandemic has plunged the Afghan economy into a deep recession. The economy is projected to contract by 8.2 percent in 2020, with the rate of poverty increasing from 55 percent in 2017 to around 72 percent in 2020. Revenue collection is severely affected by the economic slowdown, worsening the prospects for medium-term fiscal sustainability. Furthermore, the on-going ‘peace’ process and the upcoming donor pledging conference in November 2020 in Geneva add to the growing complexities for economic management during the crisis.
The University of Central Asia’s Institute of Public Policy and Administration (IPPA) in partnership with the Biruni Institute, a Kabul-based economic policy think tank, organized a webinar on August 10 on: “COVID-19: Outlook and Prospects for Economic Recovery in Afghanistan” to discuss key issues and findings from the latest ‘Afghanistan Economic Outlook’, a document outlining the state of the economy and prospects for recovery. The Webinar also included a panel discussion chaired by Dr. Roman Mogilevskii, Associate Director of IPPA, with contributions from Mr. Naser Sidiqee, Director General– Coordination, Monitoring & Reporting from the Afghan Ministry of Finance, and Mr. Sayed Zaman Hashimi, CEO of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce & Industries.
