Ambassador Said T. Jawad Addresses Afghanistan's
Reconstruction in Illinois
Embassy of Afghanistan
06/07/2006
FOR IMMEDEATE RELEASE:
June 7, 2006
MEDIA INQUIRIES:
Joshua Gross
(202) 483-6410 ext. 802
[email protected]
AMBASSADOR SAID T. JAWAD ADDRESSES AFGHANISTAN’S ECONOMIC
RECONSTRUCTION IN ILLINOIS
WASHINGTON - Said T. Jawad, Afghanistan’s
ambassador to the United States, traveled to Illinois on June
6 and 7 to participate in a number of forums addressing Afghanistan’s
economic reconstruction and rural development. At the University
of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign’s College of Agricultural,
Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES), Ambassador Jawad
participated in a roundtable discussion of the relationship
between education and development. The roundtable participants
visualized a future partnership between Afghanistan and the
University of Illinois, which could include the creation of
scholarships for Afghan students, training programs for Ministry
of Agriculture employees, faculty exchange programs with Kabul
University, the implementation of a national soybean development
plan, and distance-learning education initiatives. The Embassy’s
Economic, Trade & Investment Department pledged to continue
pursuing the development of these and other cooperative programs
for Afghanistan’s agriculture sector. Ambassador Jawad
met with the Deans of University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign
and Southern Illinois University’s agricultural colleges
to thank them for their contributions to Afghanistan’s
agricultural sector.
On June 7 Ambassador Jawad addressed the audience
of the WSEC program The Ambassador Series in Springfield, Illinois.
The Ambassador spoke broadly about trade, rural development
and economic reconstruction. “Since the days of the silk
route, Afghanistan’s unique location in the heart of Asia
has made it a natural trade hub. Our two most important assets
are our location and our people. Afghanistan is a land bridge
connecting emerging markets with energy sources in Central Asia.
In central and south Asia all roads lead to Afghanistan. Our
population is young, eager to learn and to partner with the
international community,” he said. Work is nearing completion
on Afghanistan’s 3,300 km national highway system, which
will connect all Central Asian capitals to the Persian Gulf
in less than 32 hours.
Afghanistan has experienced double digit economic
growth in the past four years and made considerable progress
in connecting the country by building roads and telecommunication
systems. The Asian Development Bank expects economic growth
to reach 11.7% in 2006 and 10.6% in 2007. Ambassador Jawad stressed
that the Government of Afghanistan would continue to pursue
market-driven, private sector led growth, combined with significant
investment in human capacity, physical infrastructure, legal
reform, and institution building.
International experience has shown that long-term
rural development is the best means of fighting against narcotics.
Agricultural development is key to sustained, effective rural
development. Prior to the Soviet invasion, agriculture accounted
for more than 83% of Afghanistan’s economic production;
in 2004, agriculture only accounted for 38.4 % of GDP. Further
agricultural development in the form of increased access to
irrigation, dams, roads and cold-storage facilities will provide
a strong economic incentive for farmers to abandon poppy production.
The Ambassador discussed Afghanistan’s business-friendly
investment climate and pointed out that the World Bank has ranked
Afghanistan among the 16 easiest countries in the world to start
a new business. The Ambassador identified the private sector
as the true engine of Afghanistan’s economic growth, and
explained that the major obstacles to private sector development
have been removed. “Why invest in Afghanistan? We have
low tax rates, low labor costs, a growing domestic consumer
market, an opportunity to create employment for women, and an
eager and committed work force,” he said.
###
