KABUL (SW) – Officials from the Ministry of Economy under the Islamic Emirate say that, since the beginning of the current solar year, domestic and foreign companies have expressed interest in investing a total of 10.654 billion dollars in various sectors. Of this, contracts worth $6.682 billion have already been signed with Afghanistan.
Abdul Rahman Habib, the spokesperson for the ministry, told Salam Watandar that these contracts were signed with China, Iran, Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan in the areas of mining, infrastructure construction, and electricity transmission.
The spokesperson added that in the past three years, the Islamic Emirate has taken several measures to attract both domestic and foreign investment, including ensuring nationwide security, providing comprehensive support for investors, reducing taxes, eliminating corruption, and cutting bureaucratic red tape.
Officials from the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum also reported that during a meeting with the acting head of the ministry on Sunday, the representative of the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry expressed interest from Omani companies in investing in Afghanistan’s metal and oil sectors.
However, some of the interest in investing in Afghanistan has yet to materialize into actual projects.
Economic expert Abdul Nasir Rashtia stated that the lack of global legitimacy for the Islamic Emirate and banking sanctions are among the main challenges hindering the increase in investment in Afghanistan.
He added, “All the necessary resources are currently available, and many countries, especially in the mining sector, are interested. However, banking sanctions and restrictions are the major challenges slowing down the process. Once political issues are resolved and restrictions are lifted, this process will undoubtedly accelerate.”
Earlier, officials from the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment under the de-facto government in Afghanistan had also told Salam Watandar that banking restrictions, the lack of international recognition of the Islamic Emirate, and the shortage or absence of energy in the country were key factors discouraging investors from committing to investments in the country.
