The IMF demanded early repayment of some debt, an audit of the National Bank, and other reforms before renewing assistance.
Marie Harf, a State Department spokeswoman, said the renewed aid was "part of a long process of restarting security assistance cooperation after implementation was slowed during the bilateral challenges of 2011 and 2012".
Development assistance has been surpassed by other sources of funding, and while it is still crucial for global development efforts, a renewed aid architecture including new actors and modalities is needed.
But expectations for the economy have dimmed more recently, and the grim unemployment numbers released last Friday do not bode well for the broader housing market, making renewed government assistance a possibility in the future.
The Afghan Central Bank and American officials are conducting their own parallel investigations, but the problems are so serious that the International Monetary Fund has not yet renewed an assistance program to Afghanistan that expired in September, threatening an essential pillar of support to a government reliant on international largess as it battles a nine-year insurgency.
In Indonesia, which is the world's most populous Muslim country and has been a somewhat reluctant partner in the effort, Secretary Powell is expected to discuss renewing American assistance after a nearly decade-long suspension over concerns about human rights abuses.
Better understanding of new donors, brought by further analysis of their development cooperation policies, can only be beneficial for a stronger engagement and closer collaboration among all stakeholders of a renewed development assistance paradigm.
As Congress considers legislation to renew international microcredit assistance, the president should raise our investment to $500 million in annual aid from the current $150 million.
Because Egypt also plays a vital role in the region, the U.S. would also renew its security assistance commitment to that country.
The American government should renew its main civilian assistance program to Pakistan, which is financed only through 2014.
