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Afghanistan has rolled out the red carpet for Indian corporates.
Though the country had invited Indian companies to tap its mineral deposits (estimated at $3 trillion), Afghan President Hamid Karzai told a gathering of business leaders here on Saturday that opportunities exist even in other sectors such as oil and gas.
“By an American (sic) estimate, we have mineral wealth of about $3 trillion. But I believe this is just the tip of the iceberg. Our estimate of the wealth is much higher,” Karzai said at the session, which was jointly organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, and the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India.
Karzai is on a four-day visit to India, during which he is expected to meet captains of industry and Ministers. He urged the Indian business community not to delay in tapping opportunities in Afghanistan. Chinese companies have been operating in Afghanistan for the past six years. “The Afghans are offering a red carpet to Indian companies. For other countries, there is a grey carpet,” he said, clearly demarcating India as the favoured nation.
“A telecom company’s $5-million investment has now become $600-700 million,” he said, indicating the huge potential of the Afghan market. “You need not worry about your investments. Not only will Afghan law protect you, even Afghan people will add to your profits. You should be more worried about how to create more profits,” Karzai added.
Help from a friend
Union Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, said that as Afghanistan emerges from the scars of past wars, India has offered assistance not just in the areas of capacity building, but also in education, agriculture and vocational training. Sharma pointed out that Afghanistan is a bridge that connects us to countries such as Iran and Turkmenistan, which are very rich in natural resources such as oil and gas. “Therefore, Afghanistan is important to us from an energy security perspective too,” he said.
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