Afghanistan Banking Confidence: Afghanistan Banks Association says public deposits in the banking system have climbed to nearly $3 billion, citing rising trust after fears of bank failures. Da Afghanistan Bank says it is improving services and regularly meets commercial banks to simplify procedures and expand standard services for citizens. SCO Economic & Financial Cooperation: At the Bishkek SCO summit, leaders signed the Bishkek Declaration, backing an open multilateral trading system and pushing financial cooperation via the SCO Interbank Consortium, including steps to connect Iran’s designated bank. Regional Water & Industry Risk: Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif told the SCO that water is the region’s “lifeblood” and must never be weaponised, stressing treaty obligations—an issue with direct knock-on effects for agriculture and hydropower planning. Afghanistan Investment Push: Reports say Afghanistan’s foreign minister is seeking US investment and sanctions relief, pitching mining, infrastructure, agriculture and trade as priority sectors after years of stalled projects. Cyber Threats to Afghan Tech: Researchers warn hackers are targeting developers in Afghanistan and elsewhere with fake recruiter interviews and trojanized coding tests delivering cross-platform malware. Data Resilience for Afghan Businesses: Mindware appointed Veeam value-added distributor across the Middle East, Pakistan and Afghanistan, aiming to help enterprises recover quickly from ransomware and protect data used for cloud and AI.