The leadership of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI), including Mr. Mohammad Younus Mohmand, First Vice Chairman of ACCI; Mr. Khairuddin Mayel Ahmadi, Deputy Commercial of ACCI; Mr. Sultan Mohammad Safi, and Mr. Khanjan Alokozay, members of the ACCI Board, along with Mr. Gul Murad Arab, President of the Southeastern Provinces Fruit and Vegetables Union, and Mr. Sardar Wali Pashtun, President of the Pine Nut Union, met with Ms. Rosa Otunbayeva, the Head of UNAMA in Afghanistan, at UNAMA’s headquarters. Ms. Dinay Boggs, UNAMA’s Economic Advisor; Mr. Dmitry, UNAMA Office Head; and Mr. Abubakr, UNAMA’s Technical Officer, were also present from the UNAMA side.
Ms. Otunbayeva welcomed the ACCI leadership delegation to UNAMA headquarters and commended the success of the third round of the Imam Abu Hanifa National and International Exhibition. She described the exhibition as a significant achievement for Afghanistan’s private sector, expressing satisfaction with the active participation of men, women, and school students, and emphasized UNAMA’s commitment to ensuring the exhibition’s international recognition by coordinating with visiting organizations.
Ms. Otunbayeva highlighted the important role of the private sector in Afghanistan's economic growth and humanitarian support and mentioned the formation of a working group in Doha to support Afghanistan’s private sector. She assured that UNAMA, in cooperation with ACCI, is working to address issues related to banking and other challenges faced by the private sector through this working group.
Mr. Mohammad Younus Mohmand expressed appreciation to Ms. Otunbayeva for providing an opportunity to hear about the private sector’s issues and emphasized Afghanistan’s commitment to maintaining positive economic and trade relations with the world. He shared details about the audio message from the Office of the Prime Minister during the closing ceremony of the third Imam Abu Hanifa National and International Exhibition, which was aimed at supporting the private sector and ACCI, and called for friendly economic relations between Afghanistan and the world while safeguarding national interests.
Mr. Mohmand explained that Afghanistan’s banking issues are leading to the conversion of legal money into informal channels, which significantly impacts the country’s private sector. He welcomed the establishment of the Doha working group to find solutions to Afghan traders' problems and stressed the importance of highlighting the ACCI’s role in this group. The First Vice Chairman of ACCI also praised Afghanistan’s achievements in eradicating poppy cultivation, ensuring nationwide security, and reducing administrative corruption over the past three years and urged the United Nations to support farmers with alternative crop options.
Mr. Khanjan Alokozay described UNAMA’s office as a common home for people around the world and Afghanistan and assured of ACCI’s efforts in controlling the prices of essential goods and other necessities in Afghanistan.
Mr. Alokozay addressed key issues Afghan traders face, including non-payment by international organizations for completed projects, lack of visa issuance by certain countries for Afghan traders, closure of borders, and increased tariffs on certain Afghan exports, especially agricultural products, by Pakistan. He requested Ms. Otunbayeva’s cooperation in these matters.
Mr. Khairuddin Mayel Ahmadi provided information on the activities of the private sector despite existing challenges and requested that Ms. Otunbayeva facilitate greater visa support in cooperation with European and Asian countries to enable Afghan traders to increase exports of Afghanistan’s dried fruits to these markets, particularly India.
Mr. Sultan Mohammad Safi noted that Afghanistan has overcome numerous challenges, and in this critical period, further support and cooperation from international organizations for Afghanistan’s private sector are essential.
At the end, Mr. Abubakr, the UNAMA Technical Representative, provided an explanation about the activities of the Doha working group, which will focus on four main areas: job creation by the private sector, providing financial assistance to entrepreneurs, establishing connections between the private sector and international markets, and collaborating with local authorities for Afghanistan’s trade development.
Finally, Ms. Rosa Otunbayeva affirmed UNAMA’s full support for the proposals presented by the ACCI leadership, adding that she would discuss visa facilitation for Afghan traders with the authorities in India. She also encouraged the ACCI leadership to engage with international organizations, particularly SAARC, ECO, and other Islamic countries, to help
Monday, 23rd of Mezan, 1403 / 11th of Rabi' al-Thani, 1444 / October 14, 2024
Meeting of the ACCI Leadership with the Head of UNAMA Office in Afghanistan
