Mumbai, India

September 12-15, 2018

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

Excellencies,

Dear Indian, American and Afghan friends, and Public and private sector colleagues,

I first wish to extend my warm greetings and deep appreciation to our fantastic Indian hosts, organizers and sponsors, our dedicated American colleagues from the Kabul and New Delhi Embassies, including USAid staff whose hard work is very much appreciated, and all of you for attending this second Passage to Prosperity: India-Afghanistan International Trade and Investment Show taking place in the enchanting and dynamic city of Mumbai.

It is so befitting that we discuss our ideals and actions tied to a “passage to prosperity” in a city that has for years represented the same dream and turned it into reality.

I am honored to be amongst you once again and to have been a witness to the amazing progress made in just one year by all stakeholders, public and private, pushing forward our joint initiatives with a specific focus on trade and investment covering numerous sectors and industries that are of interest.

The real credit goes to the business communities of both countries, but also others from other nations, who have joined them in partnerships and joint ventures. Without your energy and drive we would not be here again.

Regardless of which business sector you represent, your presence today in this event, and your desire to push the boundaries, to want to explore new opportunities or renew previous ties are a testament to the enduring nature of our shared vision and strategic foresight.

Not only are our shared efforts bearing fruit, but they are also pushing and opening new boundaries, ushering policy reforms, promoting a healthier business climate.

Dear friends and colleagues,

I am optimistic that this year’s event in Mumbai promises to build on the first show’s successes and expand its geographic impact. Afghan investors from different sectors including Afghan luxury goods, agriculture, energy, health and education, mining and heavy industry and others are attending the show.

Since our first P2P Show last year that resulted in MoUs and transactions estimated at more than $240 million, the Unity Government in Afghanistan has made a concerted effort to reform and implement targeted policies that can further enable and streamline private sector activity. They range from reforms in the banking and access to finance sectors to initiatives that help boost and facilitate micro and SME activities, particularly for female entrepreneurs.

The public private dialogue was never comprehensive and frequent as it is now under the NUG.

The Economic High Council under the leadership of HE President Ghani, and the Private Sector Executive Committee with the help of our partners particularly the World Bank, and the USAID that I chair, are implementing a set of reforms agreed to at the 2014 London Conference, as well as other benchmarks set out under the World Bank’s “Doing Business” markers. Providing a more secure environment and protecting foreign investment are key objectives that we take seriously.

We are in the stage to finalize the private sector national priority programs (private sector and NPP) under which we aim to recapture our domestic market increase productivity and improve the value and volume of exports.

Under the National Export Strategy, we are strengthening the value chains and expanding our bilateral and long-haul trade and transport corridors. We are currently connected via air and land corridors to more than half a dozen countries, including India by air, where Afghan goods and products have found welcoming export markets.

New laws, among them the revision of mining laws, are at the top of our agenda. As strategic priorities, we are focusing policy attention and resources to enhancing regional connectivity, transit, transport, infrastructure building and drawing investment into various priority sectors.

I cannot omit the fact that security remains a challenge. But we are learning to work around that problem in the same manner that we are determined to provide a healthy environment for business and investment. That is why tackling corruption is also high on our agenda. We are seeing progress, but we aim to accomplish more in that regard.

Dear friends,

We are keen on expanding our relations with the wider region and beyond - a topic to address during your deliberations. It is a known fact that, unfortunately, for reasons beyond our immediate control, economically, South Asia remains one of the least integrated regions, as intra-regional trade hovers around 6% and cross-border investment flows are weak.

This calls for concerted efforts to deepen trade and investment linkages in the region. As such, it is important to take Afghanistan’s geo-economic potentials and land-bridge connectivity for regional trade, transit and transport into account and harness it as a hub and driver of economic growth.

Furthermore, as an “energy gateway” Afghanistan can connect energy and power sources in Central Asia with energy deficient South Asia. Currently, our efforts are focused on turning regional projects like CASA-1000 and TAPI into reality.

Dear friends and colleagues,

Historic trade and business ties between India and Afghanistan are proving to hold strong. They form a foundational bloc in the overall context of deep bilateral relations that we enjoy, mainly because we share a vision for peace, freedom, growth, cooperation and prosperity that offers a better alternative to violence, terror, extremism and stagnation.

The people of Afghanistan very much value the genuine friendship that exists between our two nations. Trade and business are historic parts of it.

We are also grateful to our American friends for their visionary stance. It is of critical importance that given our deep and warm relations, the United States would be part of this “passage” by facilitating, encouraging and participating in this initiative as part of the overall engagement in South Asia and, in particular, as part of their strategic commitment to Afghan stability, security, peace-making and development.

My heartfelt appreciation to business leaders and entrepreneurs from all nations who are present here, as well as government leaders and public-private partnership organizations and NGOs who see the opportunity before them and are willing to be part of change and growth.

I look forward to another fruitful year and many deals and contracts to see the light of day. I wish every business sector and entity present here an even more successful show this year around. I am sure that you will surpass expectations and beat last year’s targets.

On behalf of my delegation and all Afghans, thank you.