Islamic states' meeting agrees to set up trust fund for Afghanistan

FILE PHOTO: A person holds a flag of Afghanistan while taking part in a Solidarity With Afghan Women rally outside the United Nations headquarters, during the 76th Session of the U.N. General Assembly, in New York, U.S., September 25, 2021. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - A meeting of foreign ministers from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation agreed on Sunday to establish a humanitarian trust fund to address the growing economic crisis in Afghanistan which has left millions facing hunger over the winter.

The fund will be set up under the Islamic Development Bank to channel aid to Afghanistan in coordination with other groups, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi told a news conference.

A final statement from the meeting said that allowing Afghanistan access to its financial resources would be pivotal to preventing economic collapse and said realistic pathways to unfreezing billions of dollars in frozen central bank reserves should be explored.

(Reporting by Asif Shahzad; editing by Jason Neely)