KABUL, March 15: Afghanistan’s legal economy is expected to grow by 15 per cent in 2005, almost a doubling of the 7.5 economic growth seen in 2004, the Ministry of Finance said on Tuesday.

“The budget is balanced,” Afghan Finance Minister Anwar Ul-Haq Ahady told reporters at a press conference saying that he intended to maintain “strict financial discipline.”

Of the $678 million Afghan budget in 2005, domestic tax revenues are expected to stand at $333 million for the fiscal year beginning March 21. The remaining $280 million for the country’s reconstruction and $65 million for security will be drawn from foreign donors, mainly the US, and the European Union, he said. Around 90 per cent of the budget will be funnelled through Afghan ministries.—AFP