New bank notes coming soon to Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Afghanistan's transitional government will soon introduce new bank notes to boost economic growth and make small transactions that now require stacks of bills easier, officials said Wednesday.

"The objective is really to add to the stability of the currency, the stability of the afghani, and to make it easier for people to engage in economic transactions," said Anwar ul-Haq-Ahady, the governor of the central bank.

One new afghani will be equal to 1,000 old afghanis, central bank official Wahid Ulluh told The Associated Press. There was no word on exactly when the new notes would be released.

A statement by President Hamid Karzai said the new currency had been printed in Germany "with the best technology" to prevent counterfeiting.

Old afghanis will soon be able to be exchanged for new ones at banks and special market stalls in Kabul and across the country, the statement said.