India vital for attracting overseas investors to Afghan

New Delhi, Apr 11: India's presence in Afghanistan was vital for attracting business and investment into the country, as it would convince other overseas investors of the business-friendly policies being adopted by Kabul.

This was stated by the leader of the Afghan business delegation to India Dr Omar Zakhilwal, while addressing a meeting organised by the Federation of the Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) here today.

The leader said ''just as stability and peace in Afghanistan would spell prosperity in the entire region, promotion of business opportunities will open up prospects of overseas investors to reach out to Central Asia.'' This, he said, could be done profitably by making Afghanistan a manufacturing hub.

Mr Zakhilwal expressed the delegation's desire to have a series of road shows of Afghan products in different parts of India as well as business-to-business contacts for attracting investments into Afghanistan.

He listed out several areas of cooperation between Indian and Afghan business enterprises including Aviation, IT, Banking, Media, Construction Oil&Gas, Cement, Energy and Tourism.

Concurring with the suggestion of FICCI Secretary General Amit Mitra, Dr Zakhilwal pointed out that it would be prudent to focus on business collaborations in a few sectors to begin with, hold road shows of products in both countries and gradually enlarge to scope for two-way trade and investment promotion.

UNI