FICCI, Afghan Chamber sign MoU to bolster trade ties

NEW DELHI (Pajhwok): In the presence of Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce & Industries (ACCI) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set up an Afghanistan-India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AICCI) comprising businessmen and industrialists of the two countries.

The MoU was signed by Jyotsna Suri, President, FICCI and  Khan Jan Alokozai, Senior Vice-Chairman, ACCI.

On the last day of his three-day India visit, Ashraf Ghani on Wednesday held business meetings with India's top business bodies like Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Associated Chambers of Commerce of India (Assocham).

"I assure you that anyone who invests over US$ 50 million will have a personal interaction with me," Ghani told Indian businessmen at the meeting.

He urged Indian corporate groups to use Afghanistan as a launch pad to central Asian economies. "Multiple-entry visas would be issued to investors," he said.

Officials of FICCI said the objectives of the newly constituted AICCI are to further the development of bilateral economic relations by providing a regular forum for businessmen of both countries to meet, discuss and explore business opportunities in trade, investment, transfer of technology and furtherance of all other economic activities. It will also be the platform for business-government interaction in the respective countries.

The AICCI will facilitate exchange of information pertaining to Government policies and rules and regulations concerning trade, investment and other related areas between the two countries.  They will share economic data of relevance to each other.

FICCI said AICCI will Identify bottlenecks in the expansion of bilateral economic cooperation and recommend ways and means for removal of irritants to the respective Governments.

It will facilitate cooperation to increase trade, investment, technology transfer, infrastructure development and other such areas which are jointly identified from time to time to enhance economic cooperation.

It will also support and encourage participation by the business community in   exhibitions and trade fairs to be held in Afghanistan and India.  The cost of participation will be borne by individual exhibitors.