Baradar links tariffs on imports to quality guarantee

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs has said about 1,500 new factories were established and Afghanistan achieved self-sufficiency in 138 industrial and manufacturing sectors since the Islamic Emirate’s return to power.

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was addressing a gathering marking the launch of the fourth national and international exhibition of the Industrial Week in Kabul. The exhibition was opened today at the Afghanistan International Exhibition Center in Kabul.

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar said they had witnessed countries strengthening their infrastructure, overcoming unemployment and finding good markets for their products through industrial revolution.”

He added that the Industry Week was not just a symbolic title, but a movement, change, and strong determination that Afghanistan must move from an import-based economy to a productive, export-based, and self-reliant economy.

According to him, with the return of the Islamic Emirate, the industry sector has made significant progress.

So far, about 1,500 new factories have been established, employing nearly seventy thousand compatriots.

Mullah Baradar said that Afghanistan has currently achieved self-sufficiency in 138 industrial and manufacturing sectors.

“This achievement is not only an important step in overcoming unemployment, but is also of paramount importance for economic stability and strength”.

According to him, the Islamic Emirate has prioritized the construction of industrial parks in various provinces for the industrialization of the country, and the process of issuing land ownership certificates to industrialists will begin in the coming days.

He said that these industrial parks will not only provide an environment for production, but will also provide employment opportunities for tens of thousands of people.

Mullah Baradar said: “To support the private sector, the Islamic Emirate has increased customs tariffs on imported goods that are locally produced and can meet the needs of the countrymen; in addition, all Emirati institutions have been asked to give priority to domestic products and products in their purchases and procurement processes, even if their quality is somewhat lower than foreign products.”

He also added that with the arrival of the Islamic Emirate, a good environment has been created for investment in the country; currently, domestic and foreign investors have practically invested in electricity, mining, agriculture, industry, transport, infrastructure, communications, health and many other sectors, and many facilities have been created for them in this regard.

Addressing the industrialists, Mullah Baradar said: “You must guarantee the quality, price, and quantity of your products. I promise you from this platform that in order to support domestic production, we will increase the tariff on imported goods to the level of self-sufficiency.”

Deputy Prime Minister for Administration Mawlawi Abdul Salam Hanafi also addressing the gathering, saying the Islamic Emirate fully supported domestic production.

Hanafi added that in order to support domestic production, tariffs have been imposed on imported goods that are also produced domestically.

He also expressed his hope for further growth of Afghanistan’s industry.

Minister of Industry and Commerce Nooruddin Azizi said that all Afghan products were of high quality and no one should consider them to be of low quality.

Azizi added that currently, the level of production in the country has increased and many common goods that used to be imported are now produced domestically.

He emphasized that an industrial revolution will take place in Afghanistan.

The head of the Chamber of Industries and Mines, Sherbaz Kaminzada, said that the country’s industrialists will offer domestic products to compatriots at a 25 percent discount in the near future.

According to him, the development of industry is one of the priorities of the Islamic Emirate, and the country’s industry has grown significantly since the Islamic Emirate regained power.

The fourth national and international exhibition of the Industry Week was organized to introduce the capabilities, capacities and achievements of the country’s national industry, where hundreds of domestic companies will showcase their industrial and agricultural products in food, medicine, dairy, construction materials, handicrafts, carpets, plastics, battery manufacturing, iron and steel, and dozens of other fields. The exhibition will continue for a week.

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