An Islamic trust fund for Afghanistan. They didn’t officially recognize the Taliban government. They didn’t even allow the Taliban’s foreign minister to appear in the official group photograph. But foreign ministers from the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the second-largest intergovernmental organization after the UN, met in Islamabad on Sunday and pledged to set up a trust fund to address the worsening humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. Neither the exact amount of the fund nor the contributions by member countries was released, but may not match the $4.5 billion that the UN has appealed for aid to Afghanistan amid warnings that the Afghan economy is in a free-fall, with 23 million facing starvation. The lead organization of the fund will be the Islamic Development Bank, the OIC’s in-house global lender.
More from GZERO Media
As Netanyahu claims victory on Trump’s Gaza peace plan, Aaron David Miller says the real story is Arab silence, European posturing, and a dangerously isolated Israel. From the latest episode of GZERO World.
This week, Netanyahu made his fourth trip to the White House this year to stand beside Trump and unveil a “landmark” Gaza peace plan — but in many ways, Israel is more isolated than ever.
As Netanyahu returned to the White House to unveil a new peace proposal alongside Trump, Israel faces a paradox: military dominance abroad, growing isolation everywhere else.
Former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, a billionaire populist sometimes dubbed "the Czech Trump", looks set to return to power.
What We’re Watching: Italy paralyzed by flotilla protests, Australia revamps military, and who will Japan’s new PM be?
Hard Numbers: Trump sets Hamas deadline, Venezuela vents at US, Diddy awaits fate, Church of England appoints first female leader
Think you know what's going on around the world? Here's your chance to prove it.
Ambassador Paula Narváez Ojeda warns that when powerful actors break norms without consequences, young people lose faith, further pushing societies toward tribalism and away from respectful debate, amplified by toxic social media dynamics. The fix: put institutions above individuals and make accountability real.
- PA Images via Reuters Connect