ACCI officials calls to facilitate int’l trade

KABUL (TOLOnews): A senior official of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI) said that in the meeting between the members of the ACCI and Afghan traders based in China, there was emphasis on the removal of challenges facing Afghan traders and the business community.
A delegation of the ACCI recently visited China. The first deputy of the ACCI, Khanjan Alokozai, said the delegation called on Chinese investors to invest in various sectors in Afghanistan.
“The traders should come to Afghanistan and invest here and also the negotiations should be conducted with the Chinese investors and they should be provided with opportunities,” he said.
Alokozai said that an agreement is expected to be signed between the ACCI and China’s Chamber of Commerce and Investment.
Meanwhile, some Afghan traders in China also voiced concerns over the existing obstacles facing their businesses.
“Since the change of (government) in Afghanistan, the process of passport distribution in the Afghan embassy in China has stopped.
This is a big problem for the traders,” said Salman Raha, an Afghan trader in China.
“Some of the traders are still in Afghanistan. It has been three to four years that they do not have access to visas and they cannot take Chinese visas,” said Jamshid Asadi, an Afghan trader.
The economists said that China’s investment in Afghanistan will improve the country’s economy.
“If the investment happens by China, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, neighbors and other international investors in Afghanistan, it will be based on mutual and equal benefit and it benefits Afghanistan. It will cause job opportunities and economic enhancement,” said Azeraksh Hafizi, an economist.
Earlier, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce said that China signed investment contracts in various areas worth around $2 billion after the collapse of the former government in Afghanistan.