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00:00:30at the trade meeting between the Chambers of Commerce and Investment of
00:00:33Afghanistan, Central Asia and India, which was held
00:00:37last night in Kabul. In this meeting, 22 memorandums of understanding worth
00:00:41more than $400 million were signed.
00:00:44An event that can pave the way for the expansion of trade,
00:00:48attracting investment, and
00:00:51strengthening regional economic cooperation. This is while
00:00:55the private sector of Afghanistan and Iran also signed 28
00:00:58memorandums of understanding
00:01:01worth $4,518
00:01:05billion yesterday. Several questions arise: How much can the
00:01:08signing of trade memorandums worth more than $400 million
00:01:11between Afghanistan and regional countries
00:01:15help increase exports, attract investment,
00:01:18and promote the growth of Afghanistan's domestic products? And
00:01:22finally, considering the signing of
00:01:24similar memorandums between the private sectors of Afghanistan,
00:01:28Iran, and Central Asian countries,
00:01:33what measures are necessary to move
00:01:34these memorandums from the stage of
00:01:37commitments to practical projects and tangible
00:01:40economic results, at least for Afghanistan? We will discuss all these issues
00:01:44here in the program. Fortunately, we are joined here in the studio by
00:01:46Mr. Haji Najibullah Siddiqi, an expert on
00:01:50economic issues, who is present here
00:01:53in the studio. Mr. Siddiqi, welcome and thank you for your efforts. Well, you
00:01:57heard the introduction. A large volume of investment and memorandums of understanding were signed
00:02:01with the Central Asian countries, especially with India,
00:02:04and a few days ago with Iran, worth
00:02:08$4,518 billion.
00:02:12With Iran, do you think this volume of large
00:02:16investments will be significant for both sides, especially for Afghanistan?
00:02:38In Afghanistan, we are witnessing at this exhibition of
00:02:42domestic products, trade, and
00:02:45infrastructure, and
00:02:48the products that we have in Afghanistan, that
00:02:52most of our neighboring countries and surrounding countries of
00:02:55Afghanistan have all,
00:02:59the majority of them, participated in this exhibition.
00:03:02The good news is that
00:03:04today we are witnessing
00:03:07that the guests we have from neighboring countries,
00:03:11the traders we have from neighboring countries, when we have
00:03:14meetings with them within the framework of the exhibition,
00:03:18they always say the same thing,
00:03:21that there is very good security in
00:03:24Afghanistan, a very good working environment has been created
00:03:28in Afghanistan. We can make huge investments with
00:03:32you in Afghanistan, and we can use the good experiences
00:03:35we had in our countries. We can use those
00:03:39good experiences for the benefit and progress
00:03:42of Afghanistan. You can use them. We are
00:03:46ready to stand shoulder
00:03:48to shoulder with you as brothers
00:03:52and invest in Afghanistan. This is very good news that
00:03:56today, the Islamic
00:03:58Emirate of Afghanistan has gained
00:04:01the trust and confidence of neighboring countries, and
00:04:05we are optimistic that the traders
00:04:09and industrialists who participated in this exhibition
00:04:13are really
00:04:16very interested in investing in
00:04:19the mining sector of Afghanistan, in
00:04:23the transport sector of Afghanistan, in
00:04:26the energy sector in Afghanistan. Therefore,
00:04:30we witnessed that 28
00:04:33memorandums of understanding were signed with Iran and
00:04:36other countries,
00:04:40worth approximately $450 million,
00:04:42and 22 memorandums of understanding,
00:04:46worth $400 million, were signed with
00:04:49India and Central Asian countries.
00:04:53Look, this was during the first days of
00:04:56the exhibition. Yes, we are still not satisfied.
00:05:00We still hope and wish
00:05:04that by the end of the exhibition,
00:05:07our protocols and contracts will increase. That's right, because
00:05:11it's practical for countries
00:05:42to invest. Look, such protocols,
00:05:45such contracts, such exhibitions, first of
00:05:49all, we showed our neighboring countries
00:05:52that currently there is security in Afghanistan.
00:05:56Currently, the working environment is favorable in Afghanistan.
00:05:59Currently, the investment environment is favorable in Afghanistan.
00:06:03This is for them.
00:06:06In the exhibitions where traders, industrialists,
00:06:10Mr. Minister, Mr. Azizi, participated,
00:06:13we are building good, close, commercial,
00:06:17and economic relations with neighboring countries.
00:06:20That is why they came to the exhibition today,
00:06:24participated here, and signed the memorandums of
00:06:27understanding. Because they understood that there is security in Afghanistan,
00:06:31the working environment is favorable, and the investment environment
00:06:34is favorable. I will mention one thing in my
00:06:37speeches always. Look, the people
00:06:40of Afghanistan
00:06:43have spent 40 to 50 years enduring problems of insecurity, problems
00:06:47of war. From
00:06:48countries that did not want
00:06:52Afghanistan to reach the peaks of economic self-sufficiency,
00:06:56to become industrial, to find its political
00:06:59place, the people of Afghanistan, the government
00:07:03of Afghanistan, they sowed
00:07:06discord in Afghanistan, and we are witnessing the
00:07:09fruit of 50 years of problems, war, and insecurity.
00:07:18They should take it to their dreams and graves with
00:07:21them. Today, the day has come when the people of
00:07:24Afghanistan, the nation of Afghanistan, along
00:07:28with the government of Afghanistan, have all declared a national
00:07:31mobilization. Today, we have established security
00:07:35in Afghanistan, free from war and problems. Today,
00:07:38everyone has again declared a struggle: we want
00:07:42to work and struggle for economic self-sufficiency
00:07:46to make our position known to neighboring
00:07:50countries, that if the people of Afghanistan suffered
00:07:53from war problems for 50 years, today
00:07:56they are free. Today is the day
00:08:00that we must extract the hidden treasures that
00:08:03the people of Afghanistan possess. Unlike neighboring countries,
00:08:07every Afghan citizen is not indebted for
00:08:10millions of dollars from international
00:08:19banks. Every Afghan citizen, look, the
00:08:23mines that are in our possession, those hidden treasures
00:08:26that have remained untouched for these 50 years,
00:08:30are at the disposal of the people of Afghanistan. Today is
00:08:33the day we must extract those treasures, industrialize
00:08:37them in our factories, process them, and
00:08:40use them for the benefit of the people of
00:08:44Afghanistan, for the reconstruction of Afghanistan. So that
00:08:48we also have the right to live in an environment
00:08:52full of economic prosperity, to live in an environment of
00:08:55security. We will not allow any
00:08:58country, any ill-wisher of
00:09:02the people of Afghanistan, to cause problems in
00:09:05Afghanistan, whether politically or economically.
00:09:09Yes, yes, Haji Sahib, you said in the
00:09:12introduction that the reason for the increased interest of
00:09:15Central Asian countries, and also most neighboring
00:09:19countries, in their active presence in Afghanistan in terms of
00:09:22investment and economic needs, you said that one
00:09:25is that the conditions for the presence of countries
00:09:29in Afghanistan have been provided within the last five years,
00:09:32and also you said that security has increased
00:09:36compared to previous years, which has attracted more
00:09:40interest from countries and increased their trust. Do you
00:09:43think that the economic-oriented policy of the Islamic Emirate
00:09:47in the last five years has been effective in
00:09:50attracting countries and their presence in Afghanistan?
00:09:54Look, we appreciate the economic-oriented policy of
00:09:56the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. They have
00:10:00indeed adopted an economic-oriented policy. I emphasize
00:10:03again that today, the era of war and problems
00:10:07in Afghanistan has passed. Today, we must
00:10:11fight for the economic peaks of
00:10:14Afghanistan. Today, we must fight for the
00:10:18progress of Afghanistan. Today, we must
00:10:21fight for the reconstruction of Afghanistan. Therefore,
00:10:25the policy that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan had
00:10:28adopted, especially Mr. Minister of Industry
00:10:32and Commerce, Mr. Azizi, we are witnessing
00:10:35how much effort they have made in these four
00:10:38or five years, how many industrial
00:10:42and commercial relations they have
00:10:45established with neighboring
00:10:47countries of Afghanistan,
00:10:50how many visits and meetings they had with
00:10:53neighboring countries so that we could
00:10:56witness its fruit today at the fifth
00:11:00Abu Hanifa exhibition.
00:11:03We actually see it.
00:11:06God willing, we will witness in the next
00:11:10five or ten years that the industry
00:11:13of Afghanistan will become 100% self-sufficient. Yes,
00:11:16and we will be able to have at
00:11:20least 50% exports to neighboring countries, even
00:11:24if not 100% exports.
00:11:27At least that balance of exports should be guaranteed, and we should be able to
00:11:30provide employment opportunities for our countrymen and brothers
00:11:34who are perishing in the seas
00:11:37and deserts. We should create job opportunities for them
00:11:41in Afghanistan, give them work in our
00:11:45factories. This will happen when the
00:11:48nation of Afghanistan, along
00:11:51with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, supports
00:11:55the industry of Afghanistan and uses domestic
00:11:58products. Look,
00:12:02domestic production, industry, is the backbone and spine of
00:12:06a country. We are witnessing in neighboring countries
00:12:10that we travel to and see that if they have good
00:12:13cars, planes, tanks,
00:12:16and weapons, it is made by
00:12:19an industrialist, it is made by
00:12:22a factory. Therefore,
00:12:25if we want to have a good economy,
00:12:28to have a good economic
00:12:32policy, we must support the industry
00:12:35of Afghanistan, and the challenges and problems
00:12:39facing the Afghan industrialist must
00:12:42be removed. The Afghan industrialist
00:12:45should no longer have the problem that we
00:12:48don't have standard electricity. It's true that
00:12:52for 50 years we endured war problems and insecurity.
00:12:55We didn't have a good electricity infrastructure. If
00:12:5920% of the electricity is domestic, and 30%
00:13:02is imported from neighboring countries, we have
00:13:06managed with this electricity, and we
00:13:09have been able to show the world and neighboring countries
00:13:12that we have some industrial
00:13:15development with the 20% electricity available
00:13:19to Afghan industrialists. If Afghanistan's electricity
00:13:22is available 24 hours
00:13:25a day. If the 20% electricity that
00:13:29is available to the Afghan industrialist
00:13:32reaches 100%, we promise that
00:13:36Afghanistan's industry will become self-sufficient in
00:13:39every sector, and in every sector,
00:13:43we will be able to export to neighboring countries,
00:13:47and we promise our countrymen that we
00:13:50will provide employment opportunities in our companies and
00:13:54factories. And we will no longer witness
00:13:57our brothers and countrymen drowning in the
00:14:00seas, and we will witness inviting engineers,
00:14:04mechanics, and staff from neighboring
00:14:08countries to cooperate with us in
00:14:12Afghanistan. Again, I say that the people
00:14:15of Afghanistan are not poor. The people of
00:14:18Afghanistan were not poor. Those countries that sowed
00:14:22discord in Afghanistan should
00:14:25listen with open ears and
00:14:28clear eyes. They should be deaf
00:14:31to the possibility of insecurity problems arising
00:14:35in Afghanistan, or economic problems
00:14:39hindering their progress. Because we
00:14:42are rich. We again point out that unlike
00:14:46other countries, our countrymen are not indebted
00:14:49for millions of dollars from international countries. We
00:14:53have treasures that are emerging on the streets today.
00:14:57Today, our Badakhshan gold is flowing into the plains.
00:15:00Today, we must roll up our sleeves, extract our
00:15:04mines, extract our gold, extract
00:15:08our emeralds, extract our copper, extract
00:15:12everything and industrialize it for the
00:15:15benefit of the people of Afghanistan and consume
00:15:18it so that the people of Afghanistan can
00:15:22live in comfort and peace in a good
00:15:25economy. This memorandum of understanding with neighboring countries,
00:15:29especially Central Asian countries, and also India and recently
00:15:33Iran, which I mentioned earlier, this memorandum of understanding represents
00:15:37a large volume of investment in Afghanistan, and
00:15:40if it is implemented, the main discussion is that
00:15:43we are fully prepared for its implementation because
00:15:47we often see that such memorandums of understanding signed
00:15:51with countries, especially Central Asian countries, have not
00:15:54seen practical steps and have been weak. Where do you
00:15:58think the reason lies, and is it expected that
00:16:01practical steps will actually be taken for this
00:16:04large volume of investment in Afghanistan? Look, we
00:16:08must be optimistic. We must have
00:16:12high hopes. We are a country, Afghanistan is
00:16:15a country that has endured 40 to 50 years of
00:16:19war problems. Today, we are newly and freshly
00:16:23striving for the peaks of industrial self-sufficiency,
00:16:27for the peaks of agricultural self-sufficiency, for
00:16:30the peaks of construction in Afghanistan. Therefore,
00:16:34some challenges and problems arise.
00:17:03Every company that has signed a contract for any project will hopefully be followed up, and they will start their work as soon as possible.
00:17:07شروع.
00:17:34You witnessed today that the Wakhan Road, which connects Afghanistan
00:17:37to China, connects it to
00:17:40a developed country. Look, we witnessed that today
00:17:44the Wakhan Road was inaugurated a few days
00:17:47ago by the leaders of the
00:17:50Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Look,
00:17:53how many provinces located along this route
00:17:56have had their working environment facilitated, and
00:18:00their business environment facilitated. Afghanistan was connected
00:18:03to a transit road. Afghanistan became a
00:18:07country that at least itself is considered
00:18:10the first or second power in the world.
00:18:13So we can benefit from such projects,
00:18:17from such contracts, like the 500 kV
00:18:20project, like the Wakhan Road, like the
00:18:23transit railway line.
00:18:26The Islamic Republic of Iran, like
00:18:30the majority of the TAPI project,
00:18:33is a big project. Each of these projects
00:18:38is a vital project for the people of
00:18:41Afghanistan. Each project has its place for
00:18:44the economic development of Afghanistan. Each of these
00:18:48projects provides employment opportunities for the people
00:18:51of Afghanistan. Each of these projects will bring
00:18:55revenue, transit, and transport fees, and
00:18:58transit fees to the people of Afghanistan.
00:19:02Therefore, if the economic-oriented policy of
00:19:05the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan continues in this
00:19:09way, as we have seen in the last
00:19:13five or four years in the
00:19:17transport, industrial, and commercial sectors, and if
00:19:21they pay more attention to the industry of
00:19:24Afghanistan, we will witness in the next
00:19:28five or ten years that Afghanistan will
00:19:31become an economic Afghanistan, an Afghanistan
00:19:35that will provide employment opportunities for all the
00:19:38people of Afghanistan inside Afghanistan, and we will
00:19:41invite workers and laborers from neighboring countries to
00:19:45cooperate with us in Afghanistan. Why am
00:19:49I saying this with such confidence? Look, I emphasize
00:19:53again that we suffered from war for 50
00:19:56years. Neighboring countries reached the peak of self-sufficiency
00:19:59in 50 years. We had insecurity problems
00:20:03in Afghanistan. Our neighboring countries gained access to
00:20:06nuclear power. So today, the day has come when
00:20:10security has been established in every corner of
00:20:13Afghanistan. Today, we must extract those treasures,
00:20:16those mines that are at the disposal
00:20:19of the people of Afghanistan, with our foreign
00:20:21partners, with advanced machinery. We must
00:20:25bring them to our factories, industrialize them,
00:20:28process them, package them to international standards,
00:20:32present them to the world, and use the money and
00:20:35benefits from them for the reconstruction of Afghanistan,
00:20:38for building dams in Afghanistan, for
00:20:41providing energy in Afghanistan, so that
00:20:45we can also be a country
00:20:48that has something to say in terms of
00:20:51economy in the world or among neighboring countries.
00:20:55Yes, Siddiq Sahib, regarding the technical discussion, you
00:20:59mentioned earlier that the Chambers of Commerce
00:21:02and Investment of Afghanistan, and also the Ministry
00:21:05of Industry and Commerce, have monitoring teams and
00:21:08whatever is needed for these memorandums of understanding
00:21:12signed with neighboring countries. The practical part is one
00:21:15thing, and the guarantees in signing contracts and memorandums of understanding
00:21:22are another. You are actually on the scene.
00:21:25What kind of guarantees do you think should be
00:21:29in place to compel the other party to
00:21:32implement such memorandums of understanding? Look,
00:21:36I will answer your question very clearly.
00:21:39These memorandums of understanding were not signed
00:21:43under duress, but at the request of
00:21:46those countries that are interested and optimistic,
00:21:54and understand that there is a benefit in these contracts. They tried very hard, paid costs, came,
00:21:56for example, transported to Afghanistan, participated
00:22:00in the exhibition, lost their
00:22:03time to be able to get such contracts.
00:22:06Therefore, they will not easily give
00:22:09up such contracts that they have signed
00:22:12and obtained, because these contracts
00:22:16are for their benefit. Considering what you mentioned,
00:22:20it is necessary to have at least one guarantee
00:22:24for greater credibility. Look, the guarantees of the
00:22:27contract, the guarantees, and the protocols
00:22:31that are within the international strategic framework,
00:22:34the memorandums of understanding that are signed between
00:22:38two countries, the guarantees of the ambassadors or
00:22:41the embassies that are in Afghanistan or in
00:22:45the countries where they are signed, all
00:22:48of them are in
00:23:12Afghanistan, Afghan industrialists, Afghan people, our
00:23:15foreign traders who have invested in foreign
00:23:19countries. Look, Mr. Azizi, let's give an example.
00:23:23Look, how many tall buildings and skyscrapers
00:23:26have they built in the Emirates? They are
00:23:30all interested in investing in Afghanistan.
00:23:33Today, everyone has come to the idea
00:23:36of investing in Afghanistan. No country
00:23:40becomes one's own country. No homeland becomes one's own
00:23:44homeland. So all traders
00:23:47and industrialists understand with open ears
00:23:50that Afghanistan, the people
00:23:53of Afghanistan, have a right over our
00:23:56traders, over our industrialists, to invest
00:24:00in Afghanistan to create