The Economic, Trade and Investment Department
(ETID) of the Embassy promotes economic and private sector development
in Afghanistan. The ETID’s main focus is to advocate for
policy issues important to the GoA before U.S. Government institutions,
nongovernmental organizations, the private sector in the U.S.,
as well as multilateral institutions located in Washington.
ETID officials personally assist hundreds of companies interested
in doing business in Afghanistan, meet with Universities interested
in establishing ties for economic-related training and capacity
building, organize events with think-tanks, link non-
profit
organizations with Afghan partners, and conduct economic policy
discussions with U.S. and foreign governments affiliated with
our Embassy.
Furthermore, additional goals of the ETID include:
Knowledge and technology transfer to Afghanistan; Promoting
infrastructure development; Focusing on sector development,
including agriculture, energy, transit, transport, mining, textiles/apparel,
artisanal crafts and other key industries; Supporting programs
that build Afghanistan’s financial market; Promoting foreign
direct investment; Improving trade capacity and business development
services; Providing opportunities for women entrepreneurs; Sharing
information with private sector on legal and regulatory environment;
and Using media and public relations to build a positive image
of Afghanistan as a place to invest and do business.
Recent accomplishments include the strengthening
of bilateral relations between the U.S. and Afghanistan through
the first consultation meeting of the U.S.-Afghan Trade and
Investment Framework Council in December 2005 and the first
U.S.-Afghan Strategic Partnership meeting in March 2006; Afghanistan’s
selection as US Trade and Development Agency’s 2005 Country
of the Year; organizing the Afghanistan Investment Support Agency’s
first ever U.S. Investment Promotion “Road show”
in 2005; participating in the planning of the first U.S.-Afghan
Business Matchmaking Conference in 2005 and a series of subsequent
Business Dialogue Meetings together with the Afghan-American
Chamber of Commerce; hosting the U.S. Geological Survey as they
presented findings in April 2006 asserting that oil and gas
reserves in Afghanistan are significantly higher than previously
estimated; and launching Afghanistan Business Gateways, a website
where investors and entrepreneurs gain access to a wealth of
information on trade, investment and tourism in Afghanistan:
http://www.afghanistan.business-gateways.com.
