Business
Afghan MPs Express Anger Over Iranian President Dam Remarks
Afghan parliamentarians on Wednesday expressed anger over Iranian president’s remarks against construction of water dams in Afghanistan.
“As a neighboring country, I would like to request Iranian high-ranking officials not to interfere in Afghanistan’s water, security, cultural and geographical affairs,” Deputy Speaker of the Lower House Hamayoun Hamayoun said.
Recently, during an international conference Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani has expressed concern regarding Afghanistan’s dam projects.
Lawmakers accused Tehran for interfering in Afghanistan’s affairs since the last 40 years.
“Iran cannot accept the construction of Kamal Khan, Salma, and Kajaki dams. Iran has interfered in Afghanistan’s affairs during the past 40 years,” MP Nader Khan Katawazi representative of Paktika province claimed.
Afghanistan water dam projects aim to regulate the waters for agriculture and electricity production; therefore, lawmakers emphasize on the quick implementation of these projects.
Criticizing the national unity government leaders, Ramazan Bashardoost said,” first of all, Afghanistan’s water dams must be build”. He accused Afghan leaders for dealing over Salma and Kamal Khan dams with Iran in signing the Chabahar port agreement.
“You have kept us busy with civil wars and misused all our material and spiritual capitals including our waters. Iran shows sensitivity as they see we can control our waters anymore,” MP Nazifa Zakai expressed.
President Ashraf Ghani has approved construction of 29 large, medium, and small dams and earlier said the neighboring countries of Afghanistan should not be concerned regarding the construction of water dams and networks in the country as it benefits Afghans and the region.
By Elaha Omari & Hesamuddin Hesam
The National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA) confirmed Tuesday that in the last month of solar year 1402, (March 2024) Afghanistan’s exports totaled $141.1 million and imports totaled $789.6 million.
This was down from $174 million for exports in the same period in 1401. However, imports increased by $99.2 million in 1402, up from $690.4 million.
Most exports in the last month of 1402 went to Pakistan, India and the United Arab Emirates, while in the last month of 1401 exports went to Pakistan, India and China.
The Ministry of Interior said the governor of Herat province Islam Jar met with Alim Khan Yasin Gildaye, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Afghanistan, to discuss various issues around trade.
According to the ministry, the two sides discussed the expansion of trade facilities, increasing the volume of trade exchanges between traders of the two countries, reducing customs tariffs, solving the challenges of traders and issuing visas to them.
The Afghanistan-Kazakhstan Chamber of Commerce has been opened in Herat in order to facilitate and increase trade between the two countries.
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MoIC) says Afghanistan has reached self-sufficiency in 45 sectors and the production of 133 items, and that the ministry is striving to change Afghanistan from an importing country to an exporting one.
The ministry officials said that for this purpose, supporting domestic products and attracting investment is essential.
The ministry’s spokesman Abdul Salam Jawad Akhundzada emphasized increasing the use of domestic goods and products in government and national projects and added that efforts have also begun to find a market for domestic products inside and outside the country.
“We have reached self-sufficiency in 133 items of production, which is 45 sectors, and also we reached the capacity of semi-self-sufficiency in 95 items of production, which is 27 sectors,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Chamber of Industries and Mines (ACIM) says over the past two and a half years, more attention has been paid to the development of domestic production and it is also expanding.
The chamber officials stressed expanding the culture of using domestic products in government projects.
“I think that the government is one of the biggest consumers in the market if it uses domestic products in all its development projects,” said Abdul Nasir Rashtia, a member of ACIM.
Economic experts also said that if the use of domestic products in government projects increases, Afghanistan will quickly move towards economic independence.
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