The forum held at the Government’s Media and Information Center (GMIC) on October 16, 2019 and attended by Dr. Mohammad Hamayon Qayoumi, Acting Minister of Finance and Chief Adviser to the President of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, and Sediq Sediqqi, Spokesperson to the President of Afghanistan, focused on the prospects of regional economic cooperation for Afghanistan.
Speaking at the event Nazir Kabiri, Executive Director of the Briuni Institute, elaborated on Afghanistan’s geo-economic location as a land-bridge connecting resource-rich nations of Central Asia with those of the countries in South Asia that are in need of energy resources including gas and electricity.
Mr. Kabiri said that Afghanistan in the long-run has the potential to turn into a transit country for pipelines, transmission lines, fiber optic cables, freight trains and air cargo corridors. Mr. Kabiri added that: “connectivity projects by creating people to people type of interdependency has strong ‘peace dividend’ that can ensure regional security”.
Referring to some of the chronic regional tensions and rivalry in South Asia, Mr. Kabiri suggested that the region is “politically” not ready for integration and mega-projects, and thus Afghanistan must be cautious in terms of its expectations as a “transit country”.
At the end, Mr. Kabiri recommended for small joint bilateral projects with neighbors so the issue of trust deficit is resolved and the ground is paved for mega regional projects in future.
