Despite several attacks not only on its property, but its citizens as well, India?s resolve to rebuild the infrastructure in Afghanistan is visible just about everywhere, be it education, health, power or telecommunications. Nearly 4,000 Indians are engaged in the development projects here.
In January 2009, India completed the 218-km Zaranj-Delaram highway in south-west Afghanistan near the Iranian border, a crucial step that will reduce New Delhi?s dependence on Pakistan for overland access and spur trade not just between the two countries but also between Afghanistan and the energy-rich central Asian countries.
Pakistan currently restricts overland access of Indian goods through its territory. While the ministry of external affairs (MEA) has also designed special programmes for training Afghan police officers, diplomats and civil servants, a vital study carried out by industry body, Ficci suggests multi-pronged agenda to double the India-Afghan trade to $1 bn by 2012.
Bilateral trade has grown rapidly, reaching $358 million in 2007-2008.
The strengthening of Afghan trade links with Saarc nations through its active participation in SAFTA, interface between SAFTA and India-Afghanistan PTA, trade and transit facilitation, capacity building in industry, customs, banking and insurance sectors and speeding up of export finance, procedural rationalisation and customs harmonisation under Saarc are the key elements of a package recommended by Ficci to boost the Afghan economy and give a major impetus to India-Afghanistan trade and economic relations.
According to the Ficci study on ?India-Afghanistan Economic Relations?, Afghanistan offers a host of business opportunities from construction to agri business, to energy and mining. Huge sector-specific opportunities exist in Afghanistan in areas like agribusiness and agro-processing, construction and construction materials, energy and natural resources, textiles and carpets, transport and logistics, chemical and pharmaceutical products, banking and financial services, telecom services, real estate and tourism, privatisation of 50-plus state owned enterprises (SOEs), and hydrocarbons.
A wide variety of opportunities remain unleashed across various sectors. These include small-scale power generation, management contracts in power distribution, fixed-line telephony, value-added services in telecommunications, construction and maintenance of roads and small-scale water systems.