UN Experts Warn Structural Barriers Threaten Afghanistan’s 2025–2030 National Development Strategy

DID Press: Despite ambitious targets set in Afghanistan’s National Development Strategy (2025–2030), UN economic experts caution that structural barriers—notably restricted women’s participation and chronic energy insecurity—can seriously hinder progress.

Muhammad Nassim Attahi, an economist with the UN Development Programme (UNDP), highlighted in his analysis titled “Perspectives from Economists” that without substantial advances in these two critical areas, objectives such as economic growth, export expansion, and attracting foreign investment risk remaining largely aspirational rather than achievable.

Attahi stressed that limitations on women’s access to education, labor markets, and economic activity not only exclude a skilled workforce from the production cycle but also weaken productivity, innovation, and long-term growth capacity. He warned that no development program can succeed sustainably without active participation from half the population.

Energy insecurity represents the second major constraint. Chronic electricity shortages, high dependence on energy imports, and weak production and distribution infrastructure are raising production costs and reducing the competitiveness of domestic industries. This barrier is particularly damaging for manufacturing and export-oriented sectors.

UNDP experts also warned that ongoing energy instability can deter both domestic and foreign investment, jeopardizing key strategy goals such as job creation and private sector development.

While Afghanistan’s National Development Strategy offers a comprehensive framework with clear targets, analysts stress that success hinges on fundamental reforms in women’s participation and energy sector investment. Without these, the country’s economic development outlook remains uncertain.