Commerce and industry ministry suspends all expos in Afghanistan

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement Tuesday that while no restrictions have been imposed on women participating at expos, they have suspended all trade shows until a new operating procedure has been finalized.

“In order to better regulate the holding of expos and provide the necessary facilities for holding domestic and foreign exhibitions, it is necessary to make a series of adjustments in the procedure for holding domestic and foreign expos,” read the statement.

Abdulsalam Jawad Akhundzadah, a spokesman for the MoIC, also said that expos have been stopped pending new regulations.

He said that a seven-day women’s expo will be held in the near future in Kabul.

“Soon, a women’s expo will be held in Kabul where about 800 entrepreneurial women from 34 provinces will participate for seven days,” said Akhundzadah.

Meanwhile, the private sector says if the suspension of holding expos continues, it will harm the country’s trade and investment process, and that the purchase of domestic products will be impacted.

Sakhi Ahmad Payman, deputy head of Afghanistan Chamber of Industries and Mines said the holding of expos was done haphazardly and he hoped that in future these events would be organized under the umbrella of the commerce and industry ministry.

A number of economic experts also said that in order for expos to have positive effects, they should be held based on principles and procedures.

“A specific mechanism should be put in place to hold expos in order to avoid abuses and opportunists in this area,” said Shabir Bashiri, an economic analyst.