Largest number of Afghan ministers to attend trade show in capital

NEW DELHI: Afghanistan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah will lead a group of 14 ministers to the Indo-Afghan trade and investment show in the national capital next week, aiming to draw up a comprehensive plan for the stability of his war-ravaged and land-locked country.

It will be the largest contingent of Afghan minsters that has visited India for any meet so far. The ministers will be joined by their Indian counterparts as both sides look for transport corridors to expand economic partnership.

The September 27-30 event can potentially worry the Pakistani leadership which has objected to the US advocating a larger role for India in Afghanistan.

The event, being facilitated by India’s external affairs ministry and USAID, follows US President Donald Trump’s call to the Modi government last month to expand socio-economic projects for the Afghans. India is also in dialogue with Russia, another key stakeholder in Afghanistan, to safeguard its interests in the country which shares its border with restive western Pakistan.

The investment show will feature Afghan entities from agriculture, health, education and energy sectors seeking trade and investment opportunities with India, according to persons familiar with the matter.

India recognises the pre-eminence of Afghanistan as a junction of trade routes between central, south and west Asia for 3,000 years. The bilateral trade at $683.02 million for 2013-14 ($474.25 million export and $208.77 million import by India) and $684 million for 2014-15 ($422 million export and $262 million import by India) is a modest figure going by the actual potential.

India has so far extended $3 billion in aid to Afghanistan since the fall of Taliban in 2001, and has introduced a liberal visa regime, especially for Afghan business travellers.

Experts, however, say that the trade relationship can realise its true potential if the Wagah-Attari route is opened for bilateral trade with Afghanistan. So far, the Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement ( APTTA) has been restrictive in this regard, according to an external ministry note on Indo-Afghan ties.