A number of businessmen from the Czech Republic have shown an ‘increasing willingness’ to resume their previous projects as well as kick start new investments in Afghanistan, the International Chamber of Commerce country director Abdul Qadir Bahman said on Saturday.
He said the Czech businessmen are keen to invest in more than 100 projects in Afghanistan and they have submitted their investment plans to the Afghan government.
“Government should use these opportunities to attract the attention of big Czech companies’ towards investment in Afghanistan,” Bahman said.
Collecting and processing garbage, generating power from wind, solar energy and garbage, investment in production of cement and other construction materials are included in the draft plans sent to the government by Czech businessmen.
Meanwhile, Suhrab Bahman, spokesman for the Ministry of Economy, said the Czech businessmen are interested to take part in reconstruction of the projects which were executed by the Czech Republic ahead of domestic wars in Afghanistan.
“Afghan-Czech consortium which is made up of 15 companies has invested in different fields in past few years. We will assess the plans which have been submitted to the Afghan government by Czech companies,” Bahman said.
The Afghan-Czech consortium, established by a joint Afghan and Czech company in 2002, is among those projects completed by Czech businessmen in the country.
Electric buses, which were active before the internal wars in the country, as well as a factory of processing of semi-precious stones are among the most important projects implemented by Czech and Slovak republics in Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industries is working on plans to increase the purchase of local products and implement more plans for boosting the market for the goods.
Addressing a government and the private sector forum, the deputy minister of commerce and industries, Farid Ahmad Mawlawizada, said they have effective plans to improve the country’s industries.
“Providing security is not our task; government should ensure our safety. The Afghan industries do not want more than that from the government,” he said.
Meanwhile, the deputy head of Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries Mohammad Yunus Mohmand said the main problems of domestic industries must be addressed.—Tolonews
