Commerce Minister Shahrani highlights U.S.-Afghan Business

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 003465 SIPDIS AIDAC DEPT FOR S/SRAP STAFF, SCA/FO, SCA/A and S/GWI DEPT PASS AID/ASIA BUREAU DEPT PASS USTR FOR DELANEY AND DEANGELIS DEPT PASS TDA FOR STEIN AND GREENIP DEPT PASS OPIC COMMERCE FOR HAMROCK-MANN, DEES, AND FONOVICH DOD FOR MSCHOFFLING AND BGIMBEL SIPDIS E.O.12958: N/A TAGS: EAID ETRD BEXP ECON ELAB PHUM SCUL OPIC PGOV AF SUBJECT: Commerce Minister Shahrani highlights U.S.-Afghan Business Development REF: Kabul 3184 ¶1. Summary: Afghan Minister Shahrani praised current USAID-funded Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) development activities to Amb. Wayne, noting especially USG support to strengthen Afghan value-added in the carpet and cashmere industries. Shahrani also wants to provide additional economic opportunities for women and welcomed Amb. Wayne's suggestion to tap into the U.S.-Afghan Women's Council. Shahrani noted success with USAID-sponsored job training programs and industrial park development, and requested additional support to expand both programs. End summary. ¶2. Afghan Minister of Commerce and Industries (MOCI) Wahidullah Shahrani met Coordinating Director for Development and Economic Affairs (CDDEA) E. Anthony Wayne October 22 to review and discuss the progress of current USAID Afghanistan Small and Medium Enterprise Development (ASMED) project activities. A German technical advisor to the Export Promotion Agency of Afghanistan (EPAA) and MOCI advisors accompanied the Minister. Embassy Kabul USAID and ASMED staff and Deputy Economic Counselor accompanied Amb. Wayne. ¶3. Minister Shahrani expressed appreciation for ASMED's support for approximately ten international fairs annually, including the upcoming International India Trade Fair (IITF) in which 40 Afghan companies will participate. USAID and EPAA said they were reviewing plans for Afghan participation in trade shows in Germany, Dubai, Las Vegas, New York, and Seattle in the next year. Increasing Value Added in Afghan Carpets... -------------- ¶4. Minister Shahrani praised the carpet cut and wash facilities in Jalalabad, installed through ASMED, and requested support for additional facilities in the North and West of the country, where there is significant carpet weaving. The ASMED-backed cut and wash facilities function as regional cooperatives which local carpet makers can utilize. USAID noted its plans to replicate its two pilot facilities in Jalalabad and Kabul, incorporating the lessons learned from those programs. USAID is also carrying out environmental impact assessments for the new plants, to help ensure chemicals in the waste water from the plants are properly mitigated. ... and Cashmere -------------- ¶5. USAID officers described efforts to tie ASMED's program to help farmers improve goat and cashmere production with OPIC's investment discussions to establish cashmere de-hairing and degreasing facilities in Herat. OPIC visited Afghanistan in early October to look at the Herati cashmere industry (reftel). The investment could provide up to 75,000 full time equivalent jobs throughout the value chain from herders to finishers. Minister Shahrani noted his enthusiasm for the project and his recent meetings with OPIC in Kabul as well as Washington. Increasing Economic Opportunities for Women -------------- ¶6. Minister Shahrani highlighted the important role that Afghan women play in carpet production and other handicrafts and emphasized efforts to improve quality and marketing should be expanded in order to provide more opportunities for women. Ambassador Wayne mentioned a number of possible resources, including the Afghan-U.S. Women's Council, which advocates for female entrepreneurs. He said Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues Melanne Verveer has expressed strong interest in supporting Afghan women and facilitating networking between U.S. and Afghan entrepreneurs. The Minister suggested the Herat's Women Association, which focuses on handicrafts, would benefit from such assistance. USAID/ASMED mentioned ongoing efforts to supply Sam's Club with Afghan high quality traditional products of handicrafts, gemstones and carpets in limited quantities in three to four outlets in California. Training Afghans, Employment and Business Parks -------------- -- ¶7. Noting his visit with Ambassador Wayne in Mazar-e-Sharif to an ASMED training program at Balkh University, Shahrani said he was KABUL 00003465 002 OF 002 very impressed with the quality of the graduates and requested the number of internships be increased and the training course lengthened and duplicated in other universities in Afghanistan. He said the graduates were highly enthusiastic and had reported they had already secured jobs. USAID officials noted over the past three years 1050 interns from ten provinces had completed the program and it is targeting 900 interns in the next year. ASMED plans to introduce the program to an academic-private sector partnership to provide sustainability. Ambassador Wayne recommended tracking program graduates to measure the program's impact on long-term employment. ¶8. Minister Shahrani was enthusiastic about the success of the Bagrami Industrial Park in Kabul, now fully operational. He mentioned his request to USAID (currently under review) to support three additional industrial parks, in Senjid - Dara, Dawlatabad, and Khost. Shahrani said MOCI could provide the land for the parks. The USAID supported Industrial Park in Mazar-e-Sharif was completed last year and seven companies have started building their facilities. The industrial park in Kandahar is under construction. Note: During TIFA discussions in Washington, Shahrani mentioned the industrial parks as an Afghan-U.S. success story. End note. EIKENBERRY