KABUL (TCA) — A delegation of 20 Russian businessmen visited Afghanistan on October 30 to discuss investment opportunities and said they want to invest in the agricultural, transportation and manufacturing sectors in the country, TOLOnews reported.

Officials from the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said despite the current problems and insecurity in Afghanistan, Russian businessmen are ready to invest in the country.

“This time a large number of Russian businessmen visited Kabul to investigate opportunities to start companies in this country and most of the businessmen are interested in transport, agriculture and manufacturing plants in this country,” said Dmitry Antonov, the chairman of Russia’s chamber of commerce and industry.

In addition, Antonov said Russians have already invested in the field of construction and manufacturing in Afghanistan, but they also want to invest in the areas of electricity production, railways, and road construction.

“Establishing a home trade for Afghanistan and Russia will provide a platform for the development of trade and investment between the two countries and we are trying to increase our efforts in this regard,” said Atiqullah Nasrat, the Chief Executive Officer of Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI).

Currently Russia’s investment in Afghanistan is nominal but the trade volume between Afghanistan and Russia is around $200 million USD a year.

Officials at ACCI said trade between Afghanistan and Russia will increase as trade and transit relations improve between Central Asian countries and Russia.

KABUL (TCA) — The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Board of Directors has endorsed a new 5-year country partnership strategy (CPS) to establish a stronger foundation for sustainable growth and poverty reduction in Afghanistan, the Bank said on October 31.

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BISHKEK (TCA) — The Asian Development Bank has pledged to provide US $150 million for a power transmission line from Turkmenistan to Pakistan through Afghanistan, TOLOnews reported.

Officials from the bank said they will provide technical assistance as well as financial assistance to the three countries.

“Next year, the ADB hopes to provide support for TAP which is an energy transmission line and connects Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan … Currently, ADB is the largest on budget development partner to Afghanistan. We work in collaboration with other development partners,” Linda Arthur, head of portfolio unit at the Asian Development Bank, said.

The Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan power line transmission project will transfer at least 2,000 megawatts of power in the first phase.

According to the De Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat, the country’s electricity provider, Afghanistan will receive at least $200 million USD in transmission rights every year.

The agreement for the project will be signed between relevant ministries of the three countries at the upcoming RECCA conference in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, the head of the Breshna Sherkat Amanullah Ghalib, said.

“Our plan is to create a ring (of power transmission lines) in Afghanistan in order to increase the safety of the energy. The TAP project is managed by the Asian Development Bank. And meanwhile, this project has the support of NATO, the Asian Development Bank and the European Union,” Ghalib said at a conference on October 31.

The transmission line will pass through western and southern provinces of Afghanistan.

DUSHANBE (TCA) — A court official in Tajikistan says prison sentences have been handed down to two brothers and a nephew of Gulmurod Halimov, a fugitive police colonel who joined the extremist group Islamic State (IS), RFE/RL’s Tajik Service reported.

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KABUL (TCA) — The Afghan railway administration department said that the establishment of a railway line between Uzbekistan and Afghanistan will be one of the most important topics of discussion during Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s visit to Uzbekistan, TOLOnews reported.

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BAKU (TCA) — Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey have launched a rail link connecting the three countries, establishing a freight and passenger link between Europe and China that bypasses Russia and Armenia and will also serve Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries, RFE/RL’s Azerbaijani Service reports.

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