Afghanistan’s Economic Diplomacy and Development Partnerships in Asia-Pacific

Speech at the Press Conference on the Presidential Visit to Australia, Indonesia, and Singapore

Keypoints: 

• Economic growth: Use national resources to build a dynamic economy.
• Regional connectivity: Become a trade and transit hub in Asia.
• Resource management: Manage water, land, and minerals sustainably.
• Human capital: Empower youth as the country’s main asset.
• International cooperation: Learn from global partners and experiences.
• Good governance: Strengthen institutions and reduce corruption.
• Peace and security: Ensure stability for development.
• Private investment: Promote business and job creation.

Dear compatriots, sisters, brothers, and esteemed members of the government, thank you all for coming!

The subject of our discussion today is the visit of myself and the esteemed delegation to the countries of Australia, Indonesia, and Singapore.

Why? Because it is necessary that a fundamental dimension of our lives be given basic attention, and that dimension is the future of our youth and a dynamic economy that can secure the future of every Afghan.

Afghanistan, by the grace of God (J), is one of the richest countries in the world; however, we have the poorest people in the world. Our wealth is natural wealth and the young generation. Our poverty is a general poverty where every night, at least thirteen percent of our people go to sleep hungry. Because of this, our lives cannot be summarized only by the creation of security and stability. We must be able to use the abundant resources that God (J) has given us in the correct way, so that both the current generations and the future generations of Afghanistan benefit from it.

And how will this happen? First, we must diagnose: what do we have? What should we do with it? In what way should we put these resources to work to build a prosperous Afghanistan? And from whom should we learn it? In the economy of today’s world, several parts have special importance: First, with whom do you trade? If you do not trade correctly, prosperity does not come. Second, from whom do you want investment? And third, from whom do you learn order so that you bring order? These were the three reasons we went to three countries, but first I want to speak briefly about our natural wealth.

The most important necessity of Afghanistan is its location. In 200 years, this location has made us suffer; but to the same extent, dear compatriots must know that without the stability of Afghanistan and a connecting Afghanistan, Asia cannot be connected to itself. Therefore, investment in infrastructure and institutions that make Afghanistan connected and truly turn it into the "Heart of Asia" is necessary. Today, the arteries of the Heart of Asia are limited and closed. When these arteries are opened, movement comes to the country. It is for this reason that you saw in the last two and a half years, the arteries of Central Asia were reopened to Afghanistan. Now we are seeking not only to open our own arteries but to be the means of connection between China and Iran, and Uzbekistan and Iran. By connecting to Central Asia, we reach Europe in five to seven days, and with our other connections like TAPI or CASA, we will transfer the abundant energy of Central Asia to South Asia; but the goal is that Afghanistan becomes a major center of international transit and trade. This transit, trade, and our centrality in this arena require investment in infrastructure and very precise planning of infrastructure is needed.

The second subject is our water. Except for the country of China, we are the source of water for all our neighbors; but we ourselves suffer from two fundamental things: it is either flood or it is drought. A strange thing has happened that your generation—because the majority of you are, by the grace of God (J), the generation that will bring stability to Afghanistan—must be attentive to it. Mr. Helmand is not present, who has worked specifically on this issue. Now documents prove that Afghanistan in the last twenty-five years has warmed by one degree on average. Our country has natural dams, and these dams are its mountains in which snow is stored. From the month of Hamal (March/April) onwards, the snow would melt naturally and gradually and would secure our irrigation system. Now, snow falls suddenly or flows in the form of rain without being stored in the dams, such that we cannot carry out our agricultural life. For this reason, water management is one of the most vital issues for Afghanistan.

The third capital of ours is land. We have land for rain-fed and irrigated agriculture, and pastures. Of all these, we used in various ways in the past such that we were a self-sufficient agricultural country or we had exports; but today, we have many agricultural imports.

Our third capital is our nature: these mountains, these valleys, and these deserts. Today there is no peace, but tomorrow, if God wills, peace will come, and the cultural capital we have—with this, you will see great centers of tourism in Afghanistan again, if God wills.

The fourth capital is our minerals. 33 percent of our minerals have been surveyed both through the air and through the ground, but the rest remains; that is, 67 percent remains. What does this 33 percent that has been surveyed show? Afghanistan has large copper and iron mines. We have so much marble that it is sufficient for the whole region for 40 years. Our lapis lazuli is unique in the world. Other elements, if you look at them, are the same... and especially what they call rare elements: 17 of them are in nature and 14 of them are in Afghanistan. Do you know what the geologists of the former Soviet Union and current Iran named Afghanistan? The Mendeleev Table! The Mendeleev Table is that chemical table in which all chemical elements are present, so they call Afghanistan the Mendeleev Table. Every time they talk about it, they say this is a magnificent and abundant wealth.

The fifth capital is gas and oil. The sixth capital is the money that Afghans have. In Dubai, they estimate that Afghans alone have 18 billion dollars. In Pakistan, the estimate is that they have 10 billion dollars. If you collect all this together, it is a large amount of money. But this money is not capital, because it does not create work for us; most of it is abroad.

Our other great capital is you: 65 percent of the people of Afghanistan are under the age of 25 and this is a great labor capital and the capacity of our new generation is a great capacity.

 Sixth, we have united partners and allies with principles who were able in the Warsaw Conference to help us with 15 billion dollars for the security and stability of Afghanistan, and in the Brussels Conference, to help with 15.2 billion dollars for the prosperity of Afghanistan. Where is our problem?

First, we have three fundamental problems: our first problem is terrorism and war. Our second problem is narcotics, and the third problem is our image of administrative corruption. Because a country that calls itself continuously corrupt, how can others trust it? For this reason, one of our major goals before the world is to explain the New Afghanistan and your generation to the world—to show that in Afghanistan, both experience, education, and commitment exist together. In this trip, Mr. Murad, Ms. Nargis, Mr. Maiwandi, the Doctor, and Mr. Ghalib were present. Why was the experience of these three countries important for us?

First, Australia has 23 million population and is one of the most advanced countries in the world. It is a member of the G20 or the twenty largest economies in the world. 42 Australians lost their lives in Afghanistan and 1850 Australians served in Afghanistan, and 270 Australians are working with us in the security sector today. One of the most important things that Australians did for us—I don’t know how many of the compatriots are aware of it—at my request which I had proposed two and a half years ago that mines are a very large danger for our security and defense forces, in the shortest time, they invented a device of which they gave one hundred thousand units in the year 2015 and fifty thousand units in 2016. When our forces were crossing a bridge, through this device, they prevented the explosion of bombs, and this was a strange example. Because the industrialists, universities, and inventors of Australia joined together with their Ministry of Defense and government to create this for Afghanistan in the shortest time.

The Australians have contributed more than one billion Australian dollars to Afghanistan; but this time our focus was on how to use the successful experience of Australia, and where are these experiences?

First is water management. Australia has one of the best water management systems.  One of their rivers gives water to an area one and a half times the size of Afghanistan, and every part of this river is on a model based on which it is managed. We have five different river basins; in this part, they will help us: how will these dams that we build connect with each other?

Second point, Australia has one of the most advanced systems of agriculture and also livestock systems, in both of which they will provide us with very basic cooperation.

Third, Australia is one of the major exporters of minerals. From coal to other minerals, today a major part of the imports of China and Japan come from Australia. In the minerals sector, the type of Australian help is very different; meaning they do not send their companies so that hundreds of other issues arise. They hire very few individuals in a very organized way. For example, in the Ministry of Finance, two Australian specialists perform the general work of nearly one hundred specialists. They come every three months and spend two to three weeks, and their job is to give us a new "four-eyes" (perspective) to see system-building fundamentally. And another point is that in the sector of drug eradication, we must cooperate fundamentally with each other.

Let me refer to the three basic problems: the first problem is that the war in Afghanistan has been defined as being the longest war of America in Afghanistan, the longest war of Australia, or the war of others. What is our view? The war that is going on in our country is not the "Afghan War"; it is "War in Afghanistan."  Here there is a difference between earth and sky (a huge difference). Meaning, the war is against terrorism, and the two sides of the issue are that terrorist institutions and their supporters want to turn this sacred land into a base for global instability. We, on the contrary, want to turn this into a point of international stability and prosperity. Therefore, the war is over two ideas, and it is ultimately necessary to know the nature of this war.

The second war is the war of narcotics. By my estimate in the last sixteen years, at least 800 billion dollars have been obtained from narcotics; but a large part of this income has been stored in the countries where transit or consumption takes place. Therefore, instead of considering this our shame, we consider it a point where we want international cooperation. All financing of narcotics must come under international regulations. Come and catch the first-grade smugglers and seize their property in whichever country it is; Afghans will clap. We are not smugglers; a limited number are smugglers. This nation is a great nation; just as we are on the front line of war, but we fight the war for the stability of the whole world. And it is here that if the view changes, the type of cooperation also changes.

Third is administrative corruption. Corruption has two parts: one is actions that you prevent, and the other is the positive point of how you build a system and order and create transparency and effectiveness. For this reason, the type of governance is important, and in all these sectors, Australia is ready to cooperate and this is a very great help. Today, about eighty thousand Afghans are in Australia and our point of pride is that about six thousand of their children today are studying for their Masters and PhDs in Australian universities. Whether they are the first generation or second, third, and fourth generations, according to the constitution, they are Afghan and if God wills, all of them will take part in the building of Afghanistan and this is a very great social capital of ours and if God wills, it will be under all-round attention.

Indonesia has 250 million population and is the largest country with an Islamic population in the world. What lesson does Indonesia have for us?

First, did you think that Afghanistan was disconnected? Indonesia is 17 thousand islands; there are 700 to 750 different languages and tribes in Indonesia. Forty years ago, Indonesia was among the poorest countries in Asia. When the Dutch left Indonesia, it had one thousand educated people and eight engineers; but today's Indonesia is one of the largest economies in the world and among the G20 countries. Indonesia, especially in the last twenty years, reduced poverty from forty percent to eleven percent and they built a massive connectivity program that covered all of Indonesia. But our other common points: first, our common point is the holy religion of Islam. 85 percent of the people of Indonesia are Muslim and the social institutions of Indonesia that provide services inspired by the holy religion of Islam cover millions of people.

We prayed in the Istiqlal Mosque. Two hundred thousand people fit in the Istiqlal Mosque. Two hundred thousand people fit in one congregation! But the most fundamental thing was that all these foundations of scholars do charitable work; they have hospitals, they have schools, they have universities, and they have brought all this with the great management of a great civilization. Islam went to Indonesia not through the sword, but by Sufis and traders, and today the common point of Indonesia and Afghanistan is that we represent real Islam with great pride. There is a small minority who want to ruin the reputation of a great nation in our name, and this is not acceptable to us. So here there is a very great common ground; we stand firm on this and we must raise our voice. Because the future of the world is in harmony, it is in interaction with one another, and do not forget this. What I said to Indonesia today and they remembered too was that a thousand years ago, from that great civilization that was the civilization of Islam, a judge came from Morocco to Cairo, from there he came to Afghanistan, then went to India and reached all the way to the Maldives; he could perform the duty of judge everywhere. This was because there was a system, there was an order. So we signed six documents of cooperation and harmony with Indonesia; the details are with you.

And the other point is that Indonesia today forms the largest economy of the Asian countries and the total economy of Asia is 2700 billion dollars per year and this is one of the largest markets. A delegation of investors from Indonesia will come to Afghanistan in the next few months, if God wills, and marketing and mutual investment is one of our foundations.

Indonesia is at the same time a country that went from dictatorship to democracy and solved all its internal conflicts through political ways and this is a very great lesson. For this reason, prominent personalities of Indonesia will work both with the High Peace Council and with the government of Afghanistan so that they can be a help to our peace process at the domestic level and in the Islamic world. The other point of Indonesia which has a very important lesson for us is that in natural disasters, Indonesia has truly found expertise. We remember the Tsunami; I saw a massive ship that had come three hundred or four hundred meters inside the city. Now they have made a museum out of it. The wave was that big. This country deals with earthquakes or floods annually; all these are our common grounds and for this reason, a special type of cooperation will be created.

The last country is Singapore. In the year 1965, Singapore got its independence and separated from Malaysia. One of the great scholars of that time named Gunnar Myrdal had written a book in three volumes named "Asian Drama"; his prediction was that Singapore would explode socially. Singapore changed itself from a third-world country to a first-world country in one generation. What is the most important obligation of this? Singapore has no natural resources; it even imports half of its drinking water; but today it is one of the largest centers of worldwide investment in Asia and the most successful type of management of the new generation, human capital, and especially its social policy. The basis of Singapore's social policy is built on two principles: affordable housing and effective work. Here too, the lessons are very clear and in this part too, Singapore has a lesson for us. The most important part in which we will have cooperation with Singapore is that the deputy ministers, directors, and officials of our independent departments will go to Singapore for shared experience to see how a system that is truly efficient, flexible, and accountable can be achieved? How it works and how it is created? A delegation from Singapore will also come to visit Afghanistan. In each of these countries (Australia, Indonesia, and Singapore), a major part of our discussion was with investors; because our future belongs to the development of our resources and the type of effective use of these resources is vital for us.

 I want to again thank my colleagues: Mr. Murad who signed all the agreements on behalf of Afghanistan, Ms. Nargis Nehan who, as you know, has been introduced as the Minister of Mines and Petroleum, Mr. Maiwandi, Mr. Ghalib, and Mr. Helmand who is not here today, the members of the delegation and also all the others.

I want to use this opportunity to also thank two of our very successful ambassadors. Mr. Waissi is our ambassador in Australia and it has been one month since he went, but by the grace of God (J) he is very successful, and Roya Rahmani, our ambassador in Indonesia, is truly among our most successful ambassadors in the country of Indonesia. The connections and the type of cooperation she has created represent the New Afghanistan.

People each live in their own worlds; one of the very surprising points in Indonesia was that they thought since the Taliban are still in the country, how did you send a woman ambassador? Then clear explanations came that the new generation and the women of Afghanistan represent both the basic beliefs of the holy religion of Islam and our national culture and also international knowledge and experience.

Thank you. If there is a question, I am at your service.

Questions and Answers

Journalist: You always ask for investment in Afghanistan both from national and foreign investors. A while ago an investor from Saudi also came and you had a similar request, but mostly the criticism is that the environment is not provided here. How much do you agree with this? Also, you mentioned water management in Australia; there is much water in Afghanistan too, but the Kunar River—whose water has been flowing to neighboring countries for many years—did you speak specifically about the Kunar River or other rivers of Afghanistan with them? If we build electricity dams only on the Kunar River, we can give electricity not only to Afghanistan but also to regional countries; did you speak with them on this too? Also coming to the cement issue, the cement of Pul-e-Khumri as well as Jabal al-Saraj, and a factory exists in Herat too, but the criticism is that investment is not made on these. Why is the government alone not able to invest so we get rid of importing cement, or give a share in this to other investors or the private sector?

President: First we will talk about cement. The third part of the Ghouri cement factory is ready. Why the government? Because if the government invests in cement, who will invest in schools? Dear brother, as much as the government’s share in infrastructure decreases, that much it can invest in the human sector. Understand this: today our schools must change fundamentally. I will give you an example: some sisters and brothers came from Herat, they told me in this very room that books have not reached Herat. I called Deputy Minister Shinwari. He said there are problems. I called Herat asking why books haven’t reached you? Do you know how many millions of books had not reached? 6.9 million books had not reached the children. I gathered them all back. I said what is the matter? They say the people who give the money—whom you call donors—they have not reached a result with the Ministry of Education on transport. In these few days, we found a way to deliver seven million books. The point is that today the school needs capital, universities need capital, especially the technical part. If we want capital, first we must prepare our human force. Look at the agriculture of Afghanistan. Compared to neighbors, the lowest production of rice and wheat is in Afghanistan, because we have imports. The "value chain" says we must prepare this thing from the farmer to the consumer. This is in our and your control. As much as private capital comes, it provides the ground for the state to fundamentally come to human capital. And cement is not easy; every cement factory needs 150 to 400 million dollars of investment. Also, in this part, the major materials are all state-owned. 60 percent of the need for cement is energy. You must either have coal, or have electricity, or have gas to run the electricity. Now four parts are ready for investment. Intense work is going on for this: how to find partners? But on the other hand, every time you give something that is not in a legal way, not in a principled way, and not in a calculated way, then it gets ruined.

Second part: have we succeeded or not in attracting capital? I will give a few examples to you: first look at the Kajaki Dam. The first part of Kajaki Dam was finished after forty years. The second part, you saw it was signed right here; from this, 100 more megawatts of electricity will be obtained, but after that, one billion more cubic meters of water will come. And who has made all this investment? Would you believe that in Helmand it is a Turkish company! We discussed the final part of the contract today as well. If God wills, it will be finished in four days. But if two hundred million dollars comes into this dam, the result is that 200 million dollars will be released elsewhere. Look at the gas sector. The Bayat Energy company, which the owner of Afghan Wireless owns—with their help for the first time 50 megawatts of electricity in the north of Afghanistan will be converted into energy, and this work will happen soon, if God wills. Similarly, Alokozay invested 600 million dollars to build six new factories.

Another part: procurement was messy. When we took the management of procurement into our hands, the result was that now 14 sectors are standing on their own feet. The reason is that 25 percent preference is given to domestic products. So you have two ways: one is, if you look at government purchasing, it is 20 percent of our GDP, but if this is messy and wasted, if you buy it retail, you get one kind of result, but if you change this to wholesale, another result is obtained.

Regarding the rivers: for working on all rivers, the first thing needed is the models: how much water do they have? Unfortunately, what stations we had were all looted. Now working on the models of rivers is the first talk. After that, other works.

We are intensely busy with the Kunar River. On the Kunar River for the production of electricity, we have not reached the final stages of the work for dams, but there is no river in Afghanistan that we are not busy with now. Salma Dam, by the grace of God (J), was finished. 650 million cubic meters of water were obtained. Helmand River is in our hands, other rivers are there too, but this now needs management. Management is not just that a dam is built, but the dam must be built in an economic way and an effective way so that we see the result. And also every time you save ten million, fifty million, or a hundred million, you build other things with that money.

Journalist: I am asking about your foreign policy, also about the peace conference, and also about diplomatic relations with Russia.

President: Neighbors, the world, the Islamic world, international partners, and we are all working and cooperating together. Along with peace talks, we speak of stability and these talks are moving forward for stability, because in instability there is no benefit for anyone and anyone who thinks that a "bad" and "good" terrorist exists, they are actually making a mistake. Russia is also facing the danger of terrorism like St. Petersburg, Stockholm, and other places... it became clear to everyone that this is not a local or regional phenomenon, it is a global phenomenon, and for its solution, we must have talks with each other so we can eliminate this phenomenon.

Journalist: You mentioned minerals earlier. A part of Afghanistan's minerals is being extracted illegally by those who are not directly connected with the Taliban or armed groups opposing the government; these are connected to mafia groups that you sometimes refer to as "rebels" (baghian). In the less than two and a half years remaining of the life of the government you head, how sure are you that you can stop the mafia groups and groups that are so-called irresponsible armed individuals?

President Ghani: A part of it is the creation of a type of investment where our minerals turn into capital, instead of turning into a major danger. For this reason, the type of legislation, investment, and providing security conditions for this investment is at the top of our work. Why didn't we start with minerals? Because minerals are like an instant wealth that if we do not have strong institutions, instead of eliminating corruption, it increases it. The only country that was able to manage its natural wealth first was Norway; even in Holland, an ultimately law-abiding country, the money that came suddenly destroyed the whole balance.

We must develop minerals gradually and sustainably; because otherwise, we face problems. Look at the experience of Iran, Indonesia, Venezuela, and dozens of other countries that became rich suddenly at the beginning. Managing money is a very difficult job. For this reason, I wanted to start first with our location and agriculture; because without agriculture, stability does not come to Afghanistan.

Second subject is security. What are we doing in the security sector? The four-year plan we made was the basis of our plan in the Warsaw Conference. If God wills, within the framework of this plan, you will witness nationwide security. The year 1394 (2015) was the year of our survival; there were about one hundred and forty thousand international soldiers, and with them six hundred and fifty thousand contractors; they left Afghanistan. The security and defense forces of Afghanistan were like a twelve-year-old youth who suddenly had the burden of a thirty-year-old man thrown upon him. While we were facing fire, we were building. Our security institutions are in the process of reforms; but reforms are not complete and this four-year framework will, if God wills, have this result.

The second part is the misuse of minerals. The major point that was in the discussion of the High Economic Council today is exactly this. One side of it is the creation of value chains. If our talc, chromite, nephrite, or semi-precious stones are exported via smuggling, the reason is that we as a state were not able to create the legitimate and reasonable way for it. For this reason, international investment in these sectors and the export of precious and semi-precious stones is one of the items of our discussion with Asia. No one else has lapis lazuli; every major element you see, this then depends on us discussing it.

The estimate is that they use our semi-precious and precious stones in Pakistan at one billion dollars a year, because it is polished and organized there and exported from there; for this reason, the creation of these trade relations of import and export is the fundamental point.

Second part: misuse exists in some places because nationwide security in all places has not come into our hands yet; in the next four years our goal is clear—to take control of our natural resources so that the future generations of Afghanistan use it fundamentally.