Arsalan Akhtar
Afghans have a very rich historical tradition of commerce and cultural exchange, dating back 2,000 years, to the era of the Silk Road. With each economic opportunity that is fulfilled, the people of Afghanistan move one step closer to reconnect with their heritage and securing a future for their country. Regional and global investors are always attracted to play a major role, but they had never helped the Afghan people with same vigor for fulfilling and achieving their national destiny, which is intertwined with Asia, Europe, and the rest of the world. Experts opine that the major impediment in boosting the economy of Afghanistan is its present day security situation, minus this factor, there is no reason why Afghanistan could not sustain as an independent and prosperous country. Afghanistan can serve as a trade hub that could inter link South Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East and China regions, having some of the fastest growing economies in the World. Its strategic and geopolitical location also makes Afghanistan a natural focal point for an emerging regional network of trade routes and energy supply lines. There are lot of opportunities and ample potential for growth in Afghanistan. Presently, Afghanistan is said to be enjoying the most investment-friendly environment in the region. The common man of Afghanistan could witness these new opportunities as a means towards rebuilding their homeland. However, all these optimistic opportunities are directly tied with the most wanted peace in Afghanistan. A combination of solutions were applied to solve the conflict by initiating peace and reconciliation efforts, but due to lack of incorporating across the board stakeholders and especially the hardcore and fighting elements within Taliban, it could not yield the desired result or perhaps that end was never required by the implementers of the peace process.
. Experts view that most feasible approach for offering economic stability for Afghanistan and the region is to initiate common interest project; the revival of the Silk Roads, whose main entrance is Afghanistan, connecting Central and South Asia and the Middle East. In this regard, China’s “One Belt, One Road” initiative, can serve as the basis to bring together the vastly resourceful and yet unconnected regions of Asia and Europe for trade, investment, and inter- civilization cooperation. Afghan government must avail this opportunity , as the initial steps have already been taken by Afghan government, when the Afghan Finance Minister Eklil Hakimi paid an official visit to China for meeting the Asian Investment Infrastructure Bank (AIIB) President Jin Liqun to discuss Afghanistan’s application to join AIIB as a full member.
The Full AIIB membership could enable Afghanistan to integrate with key regional highway and railway systems, including the five-nation railway project (China-Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan-Afghanistan-Iran). Once completed, this project would bolster the transportation capacity of the involved countries, directly contributing to their national economies through increased regional and global trade and investment. At the same time, it would dramatically reduce the distance for commercial transport between the East (from China to Iran) and the West (toward Western Europe), while helping connect member-countries to the free waters of the Persian Gulf via Iran. Moreover, in line with the country’s economic-centered foreign policy, the “Invest in Afghanistan” initiative prioritizes investment from neighboring countries, Muslim and Asian countries, Europe, and North America. In doing so, it hopes to attract FDI, which would help ensure capital inflow and transfer of knowledge and technology. Since 2002, the private sector in Afghanistan has flourished: More than $10.4 billion has been registered with AISA as initial capital for investments. But the actual investments could reach $25 to 30 billion in the following key sectors: agriculture, mining, manufacturing, services, construction, and energy sectors. All the economic progression of Afghanistan is subject to her security and peace situation, which is seemingly getting out of control and deteriorating day by day. For this important purpose, experts argue that Afghan peace talks must move forward for achieving the desired environment for economic progression of Afghanistan. Unfortunately, there are elements of destruction within Afghanistan government’s political and diplomatic circles duly nurtured and groomed by India; whose anti Pakistan pursuits are quite obvious .These elements spare no security failure incident in Afghanistan for cashing and blaming it against Pakistan by developing illogical rationales. Now there are no doubts left that India is full-fledge activated in surrounding countries to destabilize Pakistan. Besides, the exposed mind set prevailing in Afghanistan duly influenced by India or the indigenously crafted activities by Afghanistan against Pakistan should be stopped prior to any serious derailment effecting the regional stability. Both the countries can resolve all the issues through talks for moving forward for a better and prosperous future of both the countries.
