Herat province explore ways forward for Afghanistan’s National Export Strategy

(Herat/Geneva) – Afghan industry leaders, small business owners and representatives from the public sector met in Herat on 13 August to explore trade-related provincial challenges and solutions that can feed into the ongoing design of the country’s National Export Strategy (NES).

The NES will provide a blueprint for competitiveness and development of the country’s export sector and strengthen links between export development and socio-economic growth. It will include detailed activities, targets and impact measures, indicating what exactly needs to be done, by whom and with what resources to improve the country’s export competitiveness.

The event was jointly organized by Afghanistan’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) and the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), with the technical support of the International Trade Centre (ITC). The consultation in Herat follows the first NES stakeholders’ consultation held in Kabul on 20-21 February and in Mazar-e-Sharif on 18 May.

A major trading hub, Herat province plays a significant economic role in Afghanistan. It hosts a number of traditional and emerging industries, including sectors prioritized in the NES, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, dried fruits and nuts, marble and saffron.

Between August and September 2017, further consultations will be held in Kandahar and Jalalabad, culminating in a second national consultation in Kabul. The provincial NES consultations are crucial in making sure that stakeholders beyond the capital are included in the design of the strategy. These consultations are complemented with factory visits to assess supply-side issues in prioritized sectors.

The NES has strong support from both the government and the private sector, as it provides national and international development partners with an appropriate implementation plan for trade-related operations. Resource mobilization efforts will be developed in line with the strategy’s plan of action.

‘The project aims to strengthen the country’s trade capacity so as to capitalize on the recent accession of the country to the World Trade Organization’ and will contribute to enhancing the competitiveness of Afghanistan within the region,’ said Humayoon Rasaw, Afghanistan’s Minister of Commerce and Industry.

Mr. Atiqullah Nusrat, Chief Executive Officer of the Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: ‘This event is an essential breakthrough in capturing, advocating and addressing the challenges, opportunities, and aspirations of the private sector in the Herat region. This will contribute to render the National Export Strategy of Afghanistan even more relevant, inclusive and realistic’.

The NES initiative falls under the auspices of the ‘Advancing Afghanistan Trade’ project, funded by the European Union, which aims to assist Afghanistan in improving the conditions to use trade as a lever for enhanced regional cooperation, economic and human development, and poverty reduction.

Background
The Advancing Afghan Trade project is a project funded by the EU and is being implemented by ITC under the leadership of the MoCI.

The intervention is recognition of ongoing efforts by the Afghan government to use trade as a driver of economic growth, regional cooperation and stability. Afghanistan acceded to the WTO in July 2016 and has placed trade and regional economic cooperation at the heart of its development strategy. Its first action after acceding to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) was to ratify the body’s Trade Facilitation Agreement.

To ensure sustainability, local ownership and long-term impact of the project, ITC will be working with a range of partners from the private sector, non-governmental organizations, academia and civil-society organizations based in Afghanistan.

For further information about the Advancing Afghan Trade project, please visit: http://www.intracen.org/AAT/

About ITC
The International Trade Centre is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. ITC assists small and medium-sized enterprises in developing and transition economies to become more competitive in global markets, thereby contributing to sustainable economic development within the frameworks of the Aid-for-Trade agenda and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. For more information, visit www.intracen.org

For more information, please contact:

International Trade Centre
Jarle Hetland Media Officer
Office of the Executive Director
P: + 41 22 730 0145
M: + 41 79 582 9180
E: hetland [at] intracen.org (hetland[at]intracen[dot]org)

EU Media Adviser
Abdullah Yadgare
M: + 93 (0) 700 17 35 48
E: abdullah.yadgare [at] eeas.europa.eu (abdullah[dot]yadgare[at]eeas[dot]europa[dot]eu)

To read the translated version in Dari please click on the link.