WASHINGTON: Top officials urged American businesses to take advantage of the country’s unique strategic location by investing in Afghanistan and its huge untapped youth population.
American business was told at a conference here that Afghanistan being in the centre of South and Central Asia had the potential to become a hub of economic and business development in the region.
“The new unity government is working on game-changing economic reforms. This means rooting out corruption, reforming bureaucracy, streaming procedures and developing strategies for the development of natural resources,” said the Afghan ambassador.
Hamdullah Mohib, in his address to the 11th US Afghan Business Match-Making Conference, said: “Afghanistan is on the path to peace and prosperity from where there will be no turning back. This presents a unique opportunity to the business community.”
He said the huge young talent in his country eagerly waited for jobs. Acknowledging the security situation had worsened in the recent past, he argued the Afghan government was determined to take steps for the development of the country. As such, it was the best time to invest in Afghanistan, he added.
Mohib said the government was trying to increase its ranking in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business report. Afghan forces have taken full control of the country’s security situation.
Big businesses had been in Afghanistan for years and were making profits, he claimed, urging US entrepreneurs to invest in the country.
The three-day conference is being attended by a large number of companies from Afghanistan and the US. The purpose is to bring businesses from the two countries on one platform and help them explore possibilities of collaborations, said Sulaiman Lutfi, chairman of the board of the Afghan-American Chamber of Commerce.
“Afghanistan is on the move. We do have concerns about security, but this is also the time to come and invest and have a foothold in Afghanistan before it starts moving on the fast pace of development,” said Don Ritter, CEO of the Afghan-American Chamber of Commerce.
