Stage set to woo investors to Afghanistan, Abdullah Abdullah to inaugurate trade show

Smita Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, September 26

In a bid to boost economic rebuilding of war torn Afghanistan, the stage is set for the USAID sponsored India-Afghanistan Trade and Investment Show from September 27-30 in New Delhi. This will be followed by the consumer trade show on September 30.

Afghanistan CEO Dr.Abdullah Abdullah, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Acting US Ambassador MaryKay Karlson will jointly inaugurate the show on Wednesday.

A senior USAID official said the event was in the making for the last six months to enhance job opportunities in Afghanistan and further support its regional integration.

“This was one of the deliverables of the Heart of Asia conference last December. We have had almost seven trade shows in the past, in India, with an Afghan focus from 2014, on various sectors — like food, carpets and agriculture. But unlike the past, this will be a continuing effort,” said the senior official.

The official hoped this event would expand on private sector participation particularly in the social sector, healthcare, education and clean energy .The subsequent editions of the fair will be held in Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai.

USAID hopes this trade show will be a catalyst for Afghan companies to find a greater platform in the upcoming Global Entrepreneurship Summit end of November in Hyderabad, to be led by Ivanka Trump.

Around 250 Afghan vendors have signed up for the event , while some 800 companies and entities from Indian side have expressed interest.Some 40 letters of intent have been signed with companies like English Helper to GE. CEOs from major Indian and US companies will also participate and deliberate upon development solutions for Afghanistan.

“The real focus is private sector partnerships with government. We are Looking for investments but not expecting a lot of deals right now. This is about building relationships,” the official added.

 

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