Economic, Trade and Investment Department

RECENT NEWS:

Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal and the Governor of the Central Bank H.E. Noorullah Delwari were in Washington DC from October 11 – 13 leading delegations to attend the 2013 Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund. During the annual meetings, the Minister and the Governor met with their counterparts from Pakistan, and Iran. In addition, the delegations conducted meetings with development specialists from the UK, Germany, and Denmark. They also met with Dr. Rajiv Shah, Administer of the United States Agency for International Development.

The officials who participated in the delegation include:

• Omar Zakhilwal – Minister of Finance
• Sham Bathija – Senior Advisor for Economic Affairs to the President of Afghanistan
• Noorullah Delawari – Governor of Da Afghanistan Bank
• Mohammad Mustafa Mastoor – Deputy Minister for Finance
• Khan Afzal Hadawal – First Deputy of Da Afghanistan Bank
• Khalid Payenda – Senior Policy Advisor

During his visit, Afghanistan's Central Bank Governor Noorullah Delawari participated in a vibrant discussion sponsored by the Atlantic Council's Dinu Patriciu Eurasia Center and the Central Asia Caucasus Institute on the new transit and trade infrastructure that is debuting across Eurasia: the New Silk Road. Watch the video here.

About the Economic, Trade and Investment Department

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 Government of Afghanistan 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 trainings 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: increased knowledge and technology transfer to Afghanistan; promoting infrastructure development; focusing on sector development, including agriculture, energy, transit, transport, mining, textiles/apparel, artisan 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 the private sector on the 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 the U.S. 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.

Useful Links:

• Ministry of Commerce & Industry
• Regional Cooperation
• Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the IMF
• The World Bank Group-Afghanistan