War-Torn Afghanistan Hungry for Investment

By M. Saraswathi NEW DELHI, June 28 (Bernama) -- Afghanistan, torn apart by war, insurgency and militancy for the last three decades, is hungry for investments in a myriad of sectors, including infrastructure, mining and telecommunications. Its Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr Zalmai Rassoul, said security was one major concern of potential foreign investors. "Despite the high level of returns on investments, efforts and measures to create an enabling environment for investment, of great significance to investors' in Afghanistan is their concern for security," he said. "However, areas where the security situation was not ideal only represented a small part of the country. "The government is endeavouring to ensure the security and safety of the population, infrastructure and investments in all other parts of the country while striving to restore complete security to all provinces in the process," Rassoul said at the one-day Delhi Investment Summit on Afghanistan. He added that greater investments resulted in increased economic national activities in any country, additional revenue, job creation and income generation opportunities which in turn led to increased prosperity and service delivery. It is proven that greater wealth creation and prosperity has a direct impact on improving security in a country and within its region, he said. "So, investors in Afghanistan will not only be rewarded with significant returns on their investments, but they will also play a vital role in the restoration of peace and security within the region," said Rassoul. He said the business-friendly government was not only giving effective incentives but also better opportunities for public-private partnership (PPP). Access to land, skilled labour and financial resources would be substantially improved, he added. Afghanistan's mineral and hydrocarbon wealth alone is estimated between US$1 trillion and US$3 trillion, whereas the country's transport and energy infrastructure and regulatory environment received renewed attention through innovative PPP. -- BERNAMA