KABUL (SW) – The revenue collected through imports has surged to around $ 1 billion, said officials on Thursday.
Younus Momand, deputy chairman of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries, told a news conference in Kabul that with the rise to power by the Islamic Emirate, domestic revenue via exports has increased. According to him, last year the domestic revenue from exports reached 2 million, but this year the figure is around 1 billion and 96 million dollars.
He cited curbs on corruption as the main reason for the increase in revenue. “Since the day the Islamic Emirate came to power, fortunately, our exports that were around 729 million last year, has reached to 1.6 billion dollars this year. In the past, we (traders) used to face check 150 points from Torkham till Herat where money would be taken illegally, which is now over and people are willing to continue their business.”
At this occasion, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, First Deputy to the Prime Minister, expressed support for the private sector, saying that 40 years of war and corruption in Afghanistan had hindered economic development. According to him, with the advent of the Islamic Emirate, the scope for investment in the country has expanded. He urged businessmen to return to Afghanistan to invest.
Baradar added that the Islamic Emirate is trying to solve the problems of traders in the field of transport and customs.
Meanwhile, Sherbaz Kaminzada, head of Afghanistan’s Chamber of Commerce and Industries, said that providing security for traders and industrialists was a priority.
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