In early January 2010, Mr. Wahidullah Shahrani assumed the role as Minister of Mines in Afghanistan. At the same time, due to Mr. Shahrani’s background and heavy involvement with developmental issues, he is also leading the group for “Economic Development & Infrastructure”, which is an inter-ministerial commission designed to coordinate and integrate all the major infrastructure programs and projects with the aim to support the private sector and increase the employment opportunities for sustainable economic growth in the country. This group includes ministries such as Transport and Civil Aviation, Energy, Commerce and Industry, Communications and Information Technology, Labour, Social Affairs, Martyred and Disabled, Urban Development and Mines.
In late December 2008, Mr. Wahidullah Shahrani assumed the role of Minister of Commerce and Industry. He was then principally responsible for the areas of trade, industry, investment, export promotion and the overall private sector development. Until recently (Jan 2005 – Dec 2008) he served as the Advisor to the President of Afghanistan on Finance, as well as the Deputy Minister for Finance. In these positions, he was responsible for a wide array of intricate and high-level policy matters.
Mr. Shahrani was a key interlocutor for the international financial institutions and bilateral donors. His notable achievements in economic and fiscal reform are recognized by the international community. He played an instrumental role in shaping the nation’s poverty reduction strategy – Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS) and in balancing the policy priorities within the medium-term fiscal framework (MTFF).
He was the Alternate Governor for the Asian Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank and the World Bank. He was also the focal point of Afghanistan with all the major International development agencies such as USAID, DFID, CIDA, BMZ and SIDA.
Immediately prior to these roles, Mr. Shahrani served as the First Deputy Governor of the central bank (Da Afghanistan Bank) where he was responsible for monetary policy, banking supervision, market operations as well as Alternate Governor of Afghanistan at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
While residing in U.K., he was a lecturer in Economics at the Faculty of Business & Economics at Richmond Upon Thames College and at Kingston University for two years. He holds his academic degrees in economics, banking and finance from the U.K. and Pakistan.
He remains keenly interested in socio-economic research, sub-national governance, administrative reform, economic development, monetary policy and fiscal policy.
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