India’s Afghan initiative

EVER since the drive for rebuilding Afghanistan began after large-scale devastation in the wake of the US-led multinational campaign against terrorism, India has been pursuing a policy of promoting economic activity for establishing peace in the strife-torn country.

The idea has been that if people have enough opportunities to earn their living through honest means, they would not get involved in destructive activities. The same idea can be seen behind the one-day investment conference that was organised in New Delhi last Thursday by the External Affairs Ministry in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for convincing potential investors to set up industrial units in Afghanistan. India succeeded in getting participation from at least 33 countries. They all agreed with the Indian view that trade and investment can be highly effective in promoting stability in Afghanistan.

There is no dearth of investment opportunities in Afghanistan. Hydrocarbons, mining, infrastructure development, agriculture, industry, the services sector, etc, require large-scale investment. India is already involved in infrastructure development in Afghanistan in a big way. It has so far invested over $2 billion and built a major highway which connects large parts of Afghanistan to an important Iranian seaport. India has also built hospitals, schools, power projects, etc, to help Afghanistan move faster on the road to growth. But India realises that as a traditional friend of Afghanistan, it needs to do more and hence the latest investment initiative by New Delhi.
There are, no doubt, security-related problems which can discourage investors from setting up industrial units in Afghanistan. There is uncertainty about the security scenario after the troop withdrawal by the US and its allies by July 2014. But going by the change in the attitude of the Taliban vis-a-vis India, and the Afghan masses’ appreciation of growth-related activities of foreign countries, one can hope for a better atmosphere for investment in that country. In a commentary on its English website, the Taliban appreciated historical ties between India and Afghanistan and sought to build “cordial relations” between the two countries on the basis of “no interference in each other’s internal affairs”. This is a significant development, which indicates that Afghans will welcome investment-related activities through India’s inititive.