3-day domestic products expo kicks off in Kabul

KABUL (Pajhwok): Participants in a three-day exhibition of domestic products in capital Kabul on Wednesday stressed government’s support for investors.

The exhibition has been organized by Talent Advertising Company in cooperation with the Chamber of Commerce and Investment of Afghanistan and a number of government and non-government organizations.

Wida Popal, head of Talent Advertising Company, said that 68 private companies and government institutes had showcased their products and services at 70 stalls.

The products include handicrafts, services, agriculture materials, banking, media, food, dried fruits, saffron and carpets, she said.

She said they asked 2,600 companies to share their problems regarding investment and productions and then provide suggestions for resolving their problems and improving their businesses. These suggestions would be collected and shared with the High Economic Council, she added.

“This show meeting will remove the distance between the private sector and the government; foreign investors would not invest in Afghanistan until challenges they face are removed,” Wida said.

Sayed Zaman Hashemi, Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment head, said Afghanistan exports reached a billion US dollars in 2019.

He said the amount could jump to 1.5 billion US dollars if the government supported the private sector.

Khan Jan Alokozai, deputy head of Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, emphasized that the next year should be named the year of supporting the private sector and controlling foreign goods trafficking to Afghanistan.

Najiba, a resident of Kabul city, visiting the exhibition, said that organizing such expos could help boost markets for domestic products and people should use products of their own country for the sake of improving the country’s economy.

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