AFGHAN COMMERCE MINISTER VISIT - OPPORTUNITY TO STRESS OUR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 KABUL 005238 SIPDIS SENSITIVE, SIPDIS DEPT FOR EB/TPP DAS CHRIS MOORE and EB/TPP/BTA/ANA:MBGOODMAN DEPT FOR SCA FRONT OFFICE (DAS GASTRIGHT) AND SCA/A DEPT PASS AID/ANE DEPT PASS USTR FOR HARTWICK, KLEIN, AND GERBER USDOC FOR SHAMROCK AND DFONOVICH TREASURY FOR ABAUKOL NSC FOR AHARRIMAN OSD FOR BRZEZINSKI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ETRD ECON EINV EFIN AF SUBJECT: AFGHAN COMMERCE MINISTER VISIT - OPPORTUNITY TO STRESS OUR PRIORITIES KABUL 00005238 001.2 OF 004 (U) This cable contains SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION, Please protect accordingly. Not for INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. TAGS: ETRD ECON EINV EFIN AF SUBJECT: VISIT OF AFGHAN COMMERCE MINISTER FARHANG - AN OPPORTUNITY TO STRESS OUR ECONOMIC PRIORITIES (U) This cable contains SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION, Please protect accordingly. Not for INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. 1.(SBU) SUMMARY: The Afghan Minister of Commerce and Industry (MOCI),Dr Mir Mohammad Amin Farhang, will be visiting the U.S. to participate in the Annual Matchmaking conference of the Afghan International Chamber of Commerce (AICC). He will meet with senior USG officials to discuss economic cooperation and policy. Since moving from the Ministry of Economy to MOCI, Farhang has done little to meet London Compact donor benchmarks on market-oriented commercial law reform. Indeed, Embassy perceives that the German-educated Farhang is being strongly influenced by GTZ staff who are advising him to stall commercial reform. Additionally, GTZ is pushing to establish a European-modeled unitary chamber of commerce that threatens the legal existence of the AICC. Meanwhile, progress towards a private sector friendly commercial environment, WTO Accession and other key trade policy goals is moving slowly. Embassy requests that senior Washington officials deliver a strong message to Farhang to make commercial legislative and policy reform, WTO accession, and implementation of the Border Management Initiative his highest priorities. Embassy is considering a bilateral intervention with the German Ambassador regarding GTZ's activities that are diverting Farhang from goals established by the donor community. We will also continue coordinate actively with other donors through the London Compact JCMB process to press the GoA to take the critical steps needed in these areas. See key recommended policy points for Farhang meetings in para 8). END SUMMARY -------------- New Minister Meeting Low Expectations -------------- 
 2.(SBU) The new Minister of Commerce and Industry was previously the Minister of Economy where his performance was rated by most international agencies as poor. In his new job, Farhang has started slowly with the design and implementation of the economic reform policies essential for economic growth and development. In particular, the MoCI has not aggressively moved toward developing an economic environment built upon an open trading system and a sound commercial legal framework. For example, MoCI is responsible for implementing two benchmarks agreed as part of the Afghanistan Compact: (8.3) Private Sector Development and Trade and (8.5) Regional Cooperation. Reporting has been poor, coordination weak, and action virtually nonexistent. Embassy regards the following issues as urgent and strategic to improving budget sustainability and economic growth. -------------- COMMERCIAL LEGAL AND REGULATORY REFORM -------------- 3.(SBU) MoCI is responsible for reforming Afghanistan's commercial legal framework to make the country more attractive to domestic and foreign investors. This is a major element in the Afghanistan Compact benchmark 8.3 to submit to Parliament 'Business Organization' legislation (i.e., the Corporation and Partnership Laws); prepare and submit to the Council of Ministers the remaining key commercial laws, including (i) Contract Law; (ii) Mediation Law; (iii) Standards Law; (iv) Trademark Law; (v) Patent Law; (vi) Copyright Law and (vii) Arbitration Law. Bearing Point contractors, supported by the American Bar Association have drafted the laws. The drafts have been circulated among donors, government officials, and the business community and comments have been incorporated into KABUL 00005238 002.2 OF 004 the revised version. Embassy has also sent the drafts to USTR for review for WTO compatibility in order to bolster them against potential attempts to amend them by Afghanistan's parliament. Unfortunately, GTZ advisors in the ministry appear to be influencing the minister to slow down his introduction of the laws to parliament. In contrast, the Finance Ministry has moved seven key financial reform laws through parliament already. 4.(SBU) Enacting new legislation is only the beginning of this reform process. New regulations and procedures must also be drafted to implement the new laws. In addition, MoCI needs to review and reform commercial regulations for which it is responsible, with the highest priority being the system of business (trade) licensing. Ideally, this system should be eliminated or radically streamlined. A second initiative in this area is strengthening consumer protection by establishing a consumer protection unit as part of the new Legal and Regulatory Affairs Directorate in MOCI. Finally, as part of the newly established Afghanistan National Standards Authority (ANSA),MOCI needs to establish appropriate standards policies and technical committees, create a Technical Regulations Inspectorate within ANSA, and develop metrology laboratories. What progress we have made to date has been due to the proactive interventions of USAID's Bearing Point contractors. -------------- OTHER PRIORITIES? -------------- 5.(SBU) While progress on the above legislative and regulatory reform agendas has largely stalled, the ministry, in conjunction with GTZ advisors to the Minister, has drafted and circulated a new Chamber of Commerce Law based on the European unitary chamber model. The US Mission has invested heavily in the organization of AICC as an independent business advocacy and promotion group. In August, the old Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Reform Commission led a process to determine how to work with AICC. A vote was held after regional consultations on whether the private sector preferred a single or multiple chamber system. A badly flawed process produced a decision in favor of the unitary system. We have taken the position that the GOA can designate any entity as its "official" chamber of commerce, so long as freedom of association and the right to petition government for change is not abridged. (NOTE: AICC is the co-sponsor of the matchmaking/roadshow visit to the U.S. in which Farhang is participating. It would be helpful to highlight AICC's positive role both publicly and privately. END NOTE) -------------- DEVELOPING TRADE POLICY CAPACITY -------------- 6.(SBU) The MOCI is the lead GOA institution for the development and implementation of Afghanistan's national trade policy. At present, this is defined through publicly stated goals of acceding to both the WTO and the South Asia Free Trade Area (SAFTA). The US Mission along with Bearing Point contractors have been pushing the pace of these projects, but capacity within the ministry is limited. The Minister recently agreed that Bearing Point would provide a 3-month long trade policy capacity building course for GOA staff to bring them to a level at which they can effectively participate in WTO Accession negotiations. The course is expected to begin in January. Our plan is to arrange for a small group of graduates from this program then to travel to Washington for two weeks of advanced training on WTO issues and trade policy. Meanwhile, the draft Memorandum of Trade Regime is still a work in process, the proposal to form a ministerial level WTO accession coordination committee has not yet been approved, and the GOA has not yet established a well-defined strategic plan for accession. 7.(SBU) For Afghanistan to achieve its vision of resuming its historical role as the "crossroads of Asia," Minister Farhang and KABUL 00005238 003.2 OF 004 the MOCI must rise to the challenge of improving the commercial and transit trade environment. Renegotiating the Afghan Trade and Transit Agreement with Pakistan and reactivating Afghanistan's membership in the Transport Internationaux Routiers (TIR). Another pair of projects within MOCI's jurisdiction includes implementing the Corridor Development Plan of the Central and South Asia Transport and Trade Forum initiative, and the transit and customs initiatives embodied in the Central Asia Regional Cooperation (CAREC) and Central and South Asia Transport and Trade Forum (CSATTF) agreements. Finally, we have increased efforts to work with the MOCI directly to make sure it is contributing to progress on the Border Management Initiative. -------------- -------------- FARHANG VISIT: AN OPPORTUNITY TO ADVANCE USG AGENDA -------------- -------------- 8.(SBU) Minister Farhang's visit to the US is an opportunity to engage him on the issues outlined above and influence him to accelerate the market-oriented reforms we are advocating to attract private sector investment, both domestic and international. Specifically, he should be pressed to support rapid commercial legislative reform and advocate these changes with parliament. The reforms should be WTO compliant and be quickly presented to Cabinet and then introduced to parliament. Senior U.S. officials should underscore that Chamber of Commerce reform should take a back seat to the broader legislative agenda and that it should not abridge freedom of association and the right to petition government for change. U.S. officials should make clear the importance of WTO accession as a means to drive reform and that the MOCI should pursue this with vigor. In addition, it is important that Farhang hear in Washington that his cooperation with the Border Management Initiative is imperative to that program's success. Lastly, the Minister should be encouraged to rely on US Bearing Point advisors to assist him in implementing these important reforms. -------------- COMMENT -------------- 9.(SBU) According to USAID Bearing Point advisors and Embassy ECON staff, Minister Farhang is open to persuasion. Since he is fluent in German and was a long-time German resident, the German advisors, principally an Afghan German advisor, have his ear, so Farhang has been sympathetic to German advice to slow progress on commercial reform while moving forward on the Chamber of Commerce initiative. Farhang is also known for a predilection to socialist thinking that makes him susceptible to European arguments towards more state control of the economy. This orientation does not incline him to the fast track policy implementation that is needed to address Afghanistan's current political, economic and security situation. Immediate results are required and fast track policy implementation is needed to achieve this. ¶10. (SBU) Post will continue to coordinate actively with other donors through the London Compact Joint Coordinating and Monitoring Board (JCMB) to press the GoA to take the critical steps needed in these areas. We have raised this previously with key donors in the JCMB informal Tea Club format, and have recently pressed our objectives in both the relevant Afghan National Development Strategy (ANDS) working group (WGs) and coordinating groups (CGs - Ministerial level). We further intend to highlight these concerns during the upcoming half-year plenary session of the JCMB scheduled on November 12. A clear message to Farhang on the key points above from Washington interlocutors would make a significant contribution in helping to advance our major policy objectives. 11.(SBU) Building on Minister Farhang's experience and cultural connections to Germany, GTZ staff, particularly Afghan-German Senior Advisor to the Ministry Shafic Gawhari, has gained an advantageous position in the Ministry, adversely affecting relations between the KABUL 00005238 004.2 OF 004 MOCI and USAID Bearing Point. Bearing Point has also received signals from the Minister that it should seek offices outside of the Ministry, and the advisors have been increasingly marginalized from what is happening in the Ministry. Post will continue to examine ways to improve GTZ-USAID and German - USA donor coordination. END COMMENT.