NEW DELHI: Dr. Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, President of Afghanistan, sees the Indian private sector as a key partner in channelizing the flow of funds, ideas and people and bring back the connectivity between Afghanistan and India and with the rest of South Asia and Central Asia.
Speaking at a business meeting organized by FICCI, CII & ASSOCHAM here today, Dr. Ghani assured Indian business leaders that multiple-entry visas would be made available to anyone willing to invest in Afghanistan.
He urged Indian companies to use Afghanistan as a launching pad to Central Asian economies. He said joint ventures would enable the Indian companies to avail themselves of the tariff advantages enjoyed by their Afghan counterparts.
Dr. Ghani said the first infrastructure development plan proposed to be unveiled by the Afghan government would be driven by economic considerations. A cluster development approach would be adopted in which priority would be given to the development of railways, dams, dry ports and generation, transmission and distribution of power.
He said the focus of the government would be on tapping hydro power, encouraging engineering companies to exploit the gas potential, and creating a high-tech telecom sector to generate growth. Dispelling the perception of a country riddled with corruption, Dr. Ghani said, “Invest in Afghanistan and I assure you that anyone who invests over US$ 50 million will have a personal interaction with him and those investing over US$ 100 million will have direct access to his council of ministers.” Transparency and accountability will be the hallmark of governance, he emphasized.
The Afghan President spoke of the imperative need to focus on skill development in his country. The government, he said, would prepare a national plan for skill development and would like to forge a major partnership with the Indian government. Implementation would be the key, in which the private sector would have to play a critical role.
Dr. Jyotsna Suri, President, FICCI and Chairperson & Managing Director, Bharat Hotels, said, “Excellency, you have described India as “the foundation of Afghanistan’s diplomacy and economic strategy” and we in India are convinced that that our strategic partnership has the potential to fly to new heights. The formation of the Afghan-India Chamber of Commerce and Industry between our two apex chambers – FICCI in India and ACCI from Afghanistan – will pave the way for a more structured and consolidated action plan to boost our economic ties.”
In his address, Mr. Deepak Amitabh, Member, CII National Committee on Power and CMD, PTC India Ltd., underlined the need for maintaining the momentum of trade and investment with Afghanistan. He suggested the setting up of a joint task force with leading Afghan organisations for preparing a roadmap for companies on both sides and emphasized that Indian companies must look at opportunities in the MSME sector. He said CII would like to continue its work in the skill development space as also focus on training the trainer. Mr. S C Agarwal, Senior Managing Committee Member, ASSOCHAM and Chairman, SMC Group of Companies, noted that India-Afghanistan trade stood as US$ 683 million in 2013-14. This could be enhanced to reach US$ 3 billion within a couple of years, he said. He called for resolving issues relating to improved governance, enhancing security, transparency in all business deal, improved connectivity, relaxed visa regimes to take economic relations to the next level.