Kabul - The Economic
Cooperation Organisation (ECO) opened a major trade
and investment conference on Wednesday in the Afghan
capital Kabul to focus on private sector promotion in
Afghanistan, according to a press statement.
ECO is a regional economic group comprising Afghanistan,
Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan,
Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
The two-day conference will focus mainly on private
sector promotion in Afghanistan and regional development.
It will also offer a platform for an open dialogue between
governments and the business communities of the ECO
region on issues concerning trade and investment, the
statement said.
"Afghanistan is proud of its membership of ECO,"
the statement quoted Afghan president Hamid Karzai as
saying.
"The ECO region has vast economic potential and
we should all take advantage of this opportunity,"
the president added.
"Participants of the conference will include senior
ECO delegates, Afghan cabinet ministers, ambassadors
and diplomats based in Kabul, representatives of the
private sector and NGOs, chief representatives of Chambers
of Commerce and Industry, foreign investors, major importers
and exporters, and staff of international corporations
based in Afghanistan," said Omar Zakhilwal, president
and CEO of the Afghanistan Investment Support Agency
(AISA).
The conference is organised by the Afghan Ministry
of Commerce and AISA, with the support of GTZ, the German
Technical Cooperation and United Nations Development
Programme, UNDP.
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