ASEF Afghan Sustainable Economic Foundation

Our mission at Afghan Sustainable Economic Foundation (ASEF), is to advocate for economic solutions that will enable the people of Afghanistan to stand on their feet and not be a burden on the international community.
Our Mission Statement
Our organization aims to identify and provide innovative means to spur job growth, provide food security, and eliminate extreme poverty. We aim to facilitate discussions between experts and policymakers to produce practical solutions to overcome the current crisis and achieve long-term economic sustainability for Afghanistan.

ASEF advocates on behalf of Afghans who are currently suffering from starvation, and experiencing the worst humanitarian crisis on earth. While humanitarian aid is important and a necessity in the short run, we believe such efforts will only be a Band-Aid approach and not sustainable. To alleviate the current conditions, where some 24 million Afghans are starving, 6 million are at risk of famine, and without aid, 1 million children are at risk of dying, the U.S. and the international community needs to unfreeze the $9.4 billion Afghan reserves, in a phased and responsible manner, and ensure that existing economic sanctions will not harm Afghan civilian livelihood in any way, along with development aid to support civilians. We deem the current policies against Afghanistan as ineffective and a form of inhumane collective punishment which further increases the plight of the Afghan people.

We believe western policies should not lead to a collapse of the Afghan state, as it would create a power vacuum, bringing about anarchy and civil war. Millions of Afghans would be forced to flee their country seeking refuge in neighboring countries, Europe, and some in the U.S. Furthermore, Afghanistan would become a terrorist haven and a narco-state. The cost ramifications of a failed Afghan state to the international community will be immense, whereas some of the solutions, e.g. sanction relief and release of frozen funds will be at no cost to the U.S.

The Afghan people are resilient, innovative, and entrepreneurs at heart, and we believe the international community needs to remove the barriers that are holding them back. At ASEF we advocate for a sustainable Afghan economy.