Business
Afghanistan’s Economy Projected to Remain at 2.5 Percent Growth in 2019: ADB
Afghanistan’s economy is projected to remain at 2.5 percent growth in 2018 and 2019 due to the challenging security and political situations in the country, a new Asian Development Bank (ADB) report says.
In its Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2018, ADB noted that preliminary gross domestic product (GDP) growth for Afghanistan in 2017 was 2.5%, up only slightly from 2.4% in 2016, as a tenuous political situation and worsening security limited economic growth.
“..The most important thing we do is that we are involved with the government here [in Afghanistan] at a policy dialogue; e. g. we have the transport sector, we have been investing a lot, we have about $2 billion of investments in roads in Afghanistan,” said Samuel Tumiwa, ADB Country Director for Afghanistan.
“We have to help the Public Works Ministry to maintain those roads, right now road maintenance needs to be improved in Afghanistan, so we are helping with policies and regulations at the ministry to improve road maintenance,” he said.
According to the report, the domestic investment remained steady in 2017, equal to 18.5% of GDP. Private investment is estimated at only 8% of GDP in 2017, reflecting a lack of confidence in political and security conditions. Public investment increased by 8% in nominal terms over 2016 as the execution rate improved from 54% that year to 67% in 2017 with better budget planning, simplified execution rules, and more authority delegated to line ministries.
Security and the political situation remain concerns in Afghanistan’s economic outlook. Security is unstable, particularly in Kabul, and the country is likely to experience greater political uncertainty due to friction within the National Unity Government. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for 2018 and a presidential election in 2019, which could cause businesses to adopt a wait-and-see approach.
The ADB report noted that the government has attracted very little private investment, estimated to equal 8.0% of GDP, well below the average of 20.8% in the region. “This shortcoming is a major constraint on economic growth, job creation, and reduced dependence on donor aid from abroad,” it said.
The report suggested that the government should maintain its efforts toward regional cooperation.
According to ADB, connectivity and open trade with neighbors can attract more private investment as regional markets become more open.
“On top of the commercial benefits of regional cooperation, a peace dividend would give neighboring countries a greater stake in peace and stability in Afghanistan through economic links and opportunities,” it said.
Nooruddin Azizi, Acting Minister of Commerce and Industry, met with representatives from the ministries of foreign affairs, defense and interior of Malaysia, along with other senior officials, on Wednesday and called on Malaysians to invest in Afghanistan.
The visiting delegation is being led by senior diplomat Dr. Shazelina Zainul Abidin.
According to the IEA’s foreign ministry, the two sides discussed bilateral trade, holding a business communication conference to strengthen trade relations between the two countries, the trade balance between Afghanistan and Malaysia, and creating a market for Afghan products, including carpets, cotton, and minerals.
According to the ministry, at the end of the meeting, the Acting Minister emphasized the increase of investment from regional countries in Afghanistan and called on Malaysian investors to also invest in Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Interior says that Afghanistan has started exporting goods to Turkey via the Herat-Khaf railway line.
In a post on X, the ministry said: “Afghanistan’s exports to Turkey started in a calm atmosphere through the Herat-Khaf railway line.”
The ministry added that one train will run daily for a month and then two trains will run daily.
According to the ministry, the security of Khaf-Herat railway line is provided by the guards of the National Public Protection Agency.
Khaf-Herat railway project not only connects Iran and Afghanistan by rail, but also completes a 2,000-kilometer route along the east-west rail corridor from China, through Uzbekistan, to Afghanistan, to Iran, and on to Turkey and Europe.
As a landlocked country, this railway network will provide a safe route to connect with Europe via Iran’s railway network and Iran’s southern ports.
This railway line is strategic for trade between Iran and Afghanistan and will allow six million tons of goods to be sent between the two countries.
A joint expo between Afghanistan and Kazakhstan will be held in Kabul in the next four days, officials said on Sunday.
Officials of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce said that the two-day expo will be held for the purpose of expanding and strengthening trade relations between the two countries.
“This expo will be held as a follow-up of the Kazakh-Afghan international expo, which was held in the city of Astana, Kazakhstan, with the participation of a large delegation of the government and the private sector of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” Abdulsalam Javad Akhundzadeh, the spokesman of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, said.
“At this expo, domestic products from different sectors of Afghanistan and the Republic of Kazakhstan will be put on display for two days.”
According to officials, 40 large Kazakh companies, and 40 large Afghan companies will exhibit their products.
Mohammad Saber Latifi, head of the Afghanistan International Expo Center, said that fruits, minerals and commercial services will be displayed at the expo.
During the expo, various memorandums of understanding for the trade of goods are also expected to be signed by companies.
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