Islamic Emirate seeks to engage with world/ International community should lift banking restrictions to solve Afghanistan's economic problems

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - Kabul: A press conference entitled "Providing investment opportunities for Afghanistan's electricity" was held today (Monday, Sept 30) by the Afghanistan Electricity Company and the Afghanistan Renewable Energy Union, with the participation of Maulavi Abdul Kabir, political deputy of the department. The meeting was attended by ministers, heads of ministries, officials of the Afghan Electricity Company, key international donors, and investors at the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul.

At the meeting, Maulavi Abdul Kabir, the political deputy of the prime minister, pointed to the capacities of electricity production in Afghanistan and asked the company to strive for self-sufficiency in energy production.

He also asked the officials to distribute electricity from imported electricity to all in a regular manner.

The political deputy of the prime minister stressed that the electricity company should provide them with electricity to solve industrial and commercial problems.

He said that to have a stable economy, having domestic electricity is one of the basic priorities, adding: The acting government encourages investors of national and international companies to use hydro, wind, solar or gas capacities in the country.

 

Maulavi Kabir added: With the arrival of the emirate, security has been ensured and in the last three years, differences, criminal offenses and addiction, cultivation and drug trafficking have been eliminated and reached zero.

He pointed out that the Emirate attaches importance to economic relations with all countries, adding: "Just as we want cooperation and interaction with the world, we also ask them to interact with the Islamic Emirate.

The political official called on the international community to lift banking restrictions on Afghanistan to solve some of the challenges facing the country's economy.

Meanwhile, Nooruddin Aziz, acting head of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, pointed to the aid that was invested abroad in the previous administration, saying the laws on industrial parks had been signed and land would be given to 800 companies.

He announced the opening of four more large manufacturing plants in the past week, adding that many factories are being activated in the country every day.

The acting minister of industry and commerce also announced that Kabul will have 24-hour electricity in the next two years.

 

He pointed out that the international community has never been willing to cooperate with us in order to make Afghanistan self-sufficient in the electricity sector, adding: By developing industry, we can provide the ground for the return of refugees to the country.

 

Mullah Khairullah Khairkhah, acting head of the Ministry of Information and Culture, said the enemies of the country were trying to undermine the achievements of the Islamic Emirate, but the government was trying to create more opportunities to serve the people.

 

He pointed out that there are no differences among government institutions, adding: I am going to digitize the administrative structures of the government with the cooperation of a Chinese company.

 

The acting minister of information and culture criticized that some foreign investors come to invest in Afghanistan, saying: "But from within the country, although businessmen and investors have the ability to invest, they do not show interest.

Meanwhile, Abdul Bari Omar, the chief executive of the Afghan Electricity Company, said that the Islamic Emirate's achievements were obtained from the domestic budget and without foreign aid, saying that 400,000 new electricity subscribers had been distributed in the past three years.

He announced ring electricity projects across the provinces of the country and added that electricity is also scheduled to be connected in Panjshir province as soon as possible.

The CEO of the Afghan Electricity Company (AEC) reminded that we have more than 200,000 MW of solar power generation capacity in the country and said: We also have a lot of capacity in water, wind, gas and coal sectors so that investors can come and invest in these capacities.

 

He announced the 5.5 billion development budget in the country and added: There are currently 500,000 electricity meters across the country that are not connected to the system.

It is worth mentioning that five contracts for the construction of electricity and renewable energy projects were also signed between the private sector and the company.