Business
ADB Pledges Additional $ 77 Million to Afghanistan’s Agriculture Sector
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has pledged a grant $ 77 million in aid and assistance to Afghanistan’s agriculture sector.
The agreement signed between the finance minister and ADB officials on Wednesday.
Afghan finance minister says more than thousands acres of lands will be under irrigation after the completion of this project.
The aid is supposed to be used in the construction of a water channel in the AMO river for irrigation of agricultural lands used five Northern provinces.
In the meantime, ADB officials have also announced about the continuation of these aids and assistance to Afghanistan.
“We have assisted Afghanistan nearly 4.4 billion dollars to Afghanistan since 2002 and our supports will be continued,” said Thomas Nila, chairman of ADB.
ADB resumed operations in Afghanistan in May 2002 with the approval of an Initial Country Strategy and Program (ICSP) 2002-2004 that outlined a pipeline of loan and technical assistance grants.
The program was aimed to rehabilitate essential infrastructure, build capacity, and to establish policy and institutional frameworks to promote reconstruction and development.
In December that year, ADB approved the first loan by an international financial institution to Afghanistan in over 23 years.
The $150 million Post conflict Multi sector Program loan has supported policy reforms, public infrastructure investment, and capacity building to promote recovery and economic growth.
A second $150 million loan, the Emergency Infrastructure Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Project, is rebuilding important road and power infrastructure.
ADB also plans to remain active in supporting the development of Afghanistan’s financial sector through private sector investments.
Business
Acting commerce minister meets Russian deputy PM
Nooruddin Azizi, Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce, met with Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk to discuss trade and investment, it was announced on Friday.
Sergey Pavlov, General Director of Russian Railways, and Dmitry Zverev, Deputy Minister of Transport of Russia, were also present in the meeting, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce said in a statement.
According to the statement, the two sides discussed increasing the volume of trade, preferential tariff for Afghan goods, Russian investment in mines and water dams in Afghanistan, and Afghanistan’s role in the International North–South Transport Corridor.
They also discussed about reducing the cost of transportation through the Russian railway, removing the export tax on basic materials, arranging the trip of the delegation to the ports of Astrakhan and Makhachkala, and holding a trade connectivity conference and an expo of Afghan products in Moscow.
Azizi met with the Russian deputy PM on the sidelines of the Kazan Forum – the 15th International Economic Forum of Russia and the Islamic World.
He also met with representatives of a number of Tatarstan and Russia companies and encouraged them to invest in Afghanistan.
Business
Azizi meets with head of Tatarstan on sidelines of Kazan Forum
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry said Thursday acting minister Nooruddin Azizi met with the leader of Russia’s autonomous republic of Tatarstan, Rustam Nurgaliyevich Minnikhanov, on the sidelines of a meeting in Kazan.
According to the ministry, Azizi met with Minnikhanov on the sidelines of the Kazan Forum – the 15th International Economic Forum of Russia and the Islamic World.
The two officials discussed bilateral trade relations, the establishment of the Russian Trade House in Afghanistan, the visit of Minnikhanov to Kabul, investment in electricity production, water transfer, mining, cultural and economic cooperation and other matters.
This annual meeting is held by Russia and the 14th round of this meeting was also held in the same country last year.
The main goal of the forum is to strengthen trade and economic, scientific and technical, social and cultural ties between Russian regions and the countries of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), as well as to promote the development of the Islamic financial system institutions in Russia.
Business
Afghanistan’s imports and exports totaled $10.3 billion last year
The National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA) said on Wednesday that last year, the value of exports totaled $1.79 billion while imports totaled $8.57 billion.
According to NSIA, fruits accounted for the largest share of export items last year, totaling over $645 million.
Medicinal plants, minerals and vegetables were the next top three items respectively to be exported.
Meanwhile, petroleum and oil accounted for the largest portion of imported goods, totaling over $1.37 billion.
Another large portion of the total amount imported went to machinery, vehicles and parts. This totaled over $1.15 billion, followed by textiles, metals and metal products.
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