Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan

Mr. Seddiq Rasuli, Acting Director General for Economic Relations had a meeting with Mr. Rozbakiev Bekhtiyor, head of department for cooperation with Middle East countries of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan. They discussed the roadmap for RECCA-VIII preparation as Uzbekistan is hosting the upcoming RECCA-VIII Ministerial Meeting.

Trilateral Video Conference Call between the Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan
Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Haneef Atmar held a video conference call with the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Mr Elmar Mammadyarov and the Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan Mr Rasit Meredov on Monday, July 13, 2020.
Following the trilateral VTC meeting held by the Presidents of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan on July 2, 2020 Monday’s meeting focused on developing policies and implementation mechanisms as well as discussing proposal agreed to by the leaders of the three countries.
As discussed in the heads of government meeting, the parties deliberated on the potential implementing mechanisms for broadening tripartite cooperation in energy, transport, trade and investment. All parties agreed on the policies and implementation mechanisms for expanding cooperation and agreed on creating a tripartite working group including one on transport to implement the planned proposals. The working group is set to meet on July 27, 2020.
All parties agreed to utilize the Lapis Lazuli Corridor agreement to expand trade and transport links between the three countries; extend the fiber optic corridor; extend railways; promote mutual investment; align customs processes; simplify tax tariffs and create sectorial working groups.
All parties agreed to hold regular ministerial meetings on the matter.

Mr. Seddiq Rasuli, Acting Director General of Economic Relations Directorate met with H.E. WangYu, Ambassador of the People's Republic of China and discussed a range of issues, including Wakhan corridor & fiber optic network-connecting with .

Mr. Seddiq Rasuli, Acting Director General for Economic Cooperation met H.E. Yadgarkhoja Shadmanov, Ambassador of the Republic of Uzbekistan to Kabul, in his office.
During this meeting both sides discussed the substantive and organizational matters of RECCA VIII ministerial meeting, thematic roundtables, academic forum and business forum including a trade and investment show along with an exhibition of goods and other activities were discussed.

The International Conference on “Afghanistan as Regional Transit Hub” was organized by the Administrative Office of the President on September 12, 2019 at the Kabul Polytechnic University with the participation of high-ranking officials, heads of diplomatic missions, scholars and students.
The Conference was opened by H.E. Yama Yari, Minister of Transport of Afghanistan followed by three panels on regional economic cooperation and major transit routes between Afghanistan and countries in the wider region.
The first panel was moderated by Minister Yama Yari and focused on transit routes between Afghanistan, Central Asia and Caucasus. The speakers included H.E. Ambassador of Turkmenistan, H.E. Ambassador of Uzbekistan, Deputy Chief of Mission of Turkey and Mr. Yamma Shams, Dircetor General of the Afghanistan Rail Authority.
The second panel was moderated by Mr. Hassan Soroosh, Director General for Economic Cooperation, MoFA and the speakers included Mr. Wang Daxue, Charge d’Affaires of the People’s Republic of China in Kabul; Mr. Janan Mosazai, former Ambassador of Afghanistan to Pakistan and China; Mr. Sheikh Ahmad Matin, Deputy Minister of Transport and Mr. Hojat Fazly, Deputy CEO of Afghanistan – International Chamber of Commerce. This panel discussed the transit routes and corridors between Afghanistan and China including under the BRI and RECCA.

The third panel was moderated by Mr. Hamidullah Farooqi, Chancellor of the Kabul University and Advisor to the President and the speakers included H.E. Ambassador of India to Afghanistan, H.E. Ambassador of Iran to Afghanistan; Mr. Ajmal Abdulrahimzai, Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, and Mr. Mansour, Director of the National Economy at the Administrative of Office of the President.
Among other priority issues, the speakers stressed the importance of addressing both hard and soft infrastructure as well as the significance of synergy and complementarity at both institutional and policy levels.

The first rail shipment from Afghanistan to China via Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan was dispatched earlier today during a high-level ceremony attended by officials and diplomats from four countries in the Hiratan Port. The shipment includes 1100 MTs of goods from Afghanistan.

A Panel Discussion on the World Economic Situation, Chinese Experience in Economic Development and the Prospects for Bilateral Cooperation between Afghanistan and China held at MoFA

Kabul, July 23, 2019

A Panel Discussion on the World Economic Situation, Chinese Experience in Economic Development and the Prospects for Bilateral Cooperation between Afghanistan and China was organized today by the RECCA Center for Research and Evaluation (RCRE) in collaboration with the Institute of Diplomacy at MoFA. The event was attended by officials and experts from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Afghan line ministries, United Nations, research centers as well as chambers of commerce and industries.

The panel was moderated by Mr. Aziz Omar, Deputy Director General for Policy and Strategy at MoFA and the speakers included Mr. Ismail Rahimi, Deputy Minister of Economy; Mr. Hassan Soroosh, Director General for Economic Cooperation, MoFA; Professor Yu Yongding, Member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and Member of the Advisory Committee of Foreign Policy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PRC who is visiting Afghanistan for a number of meetings and academic engagements, and Mr. Ajmal Kakar, Assistant Professor at the Kabul University.

Speakers discussed the world economic situation, the current economic situation in Afghanistan, China’s economic growth and development over the past 4 decades; regional cooperation efforts under RECCA, HoA-IP and BRI as well as the prospects for bilateral cooperation between Afghanistan and China.

The Second RECCA Ambassadorial Coordination Meeting in 2019 and the Inauguration Ceremony of the RECCA Chamber of Commerce and Industries (RCCI) held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Kabul – July 10, 2019

The Second RECCA Ambassadorial Coordination Meeting in 2019 and the Inauguration Ceremony of the RECCA Chamber of Commerce and Industries (RCRE) was held today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan with the participation of high-level officials from the Afghan government; heads of diplomatic mission in Kabul as well as representatives from major chambers based in Afghanistan.
The event opened by H.E. Idrees Zaman, Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs. Deputy Foreign Minister Zaman spoke about the link between peace, development and connectivity and provided an overview of the regional cooperation efforts and progress made recently under RECCA. He highlighted the important role of RCCI in trade expansion and investment promotion in the wider RECCA region.
The opening segment also included introductory remarks by Mr. Hassan Soroosh, Director General for Economic Cooperation, MoFA; remarks by H.E. Yadgarkhoja Shadmanov, Ambassador of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Kabul on RECCA VIII; and remarks by Mr. Abdallah Al Dardari, UNDP Resident Representative in Afghanistan on UNDP’s support to regional cooperation efforts including under RECCA.
The second segment was dedicated to the inauguration of RCCI where H.E. Muaqadasa Yourish, Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce; Mr. Atiqullah Nusrat, CEO of Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment and Ms. Manish Wafeq, President and Co-founder of Afghanistan Women Chamber of Commerce and Industries spoke about the overall policy environment and the ongoing efforts in the area of private sector development, trade expansion and investment promotion and the role that the RECCA Chamber of Commerce and Industries is expected to play in this regard

The last segment of the meeting was dedicated to the recognition of a successful journey from Herat to Istanbul by the Lapis Lazuli Route Cyclists from Afghanistan. Mr. Mohammad Sadiq Jami, Team Leader of the Cyclists Group spoke about their journey and a video presentation was also made in this regard. A recognition award was presented to Mr. Jami on behalf of the RECCA Secretariat.

RCRE and AREU Sign MoU on Research Collaboration

July 04, 2019 – The RECCA Center for Research and Evaluation (RCRE) & Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Research Collaboration today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan.
The event was attended by H.E. Idrees Zaman, Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs and high-level officials and representatives from the line ministries, parliament, diplomatic missions and research institutes including the AREU.
H.E. Deputy Foreign Minister Zaman and Dr. Orzala Nemat, Director of AREU spoke about the importance of research in identifying both challenges and opportunities related to regional economic cooperation and integration in Afghanistan and the region. They further highlighted the significance of research collaboration between the two centers in addressing some of the research gaps pertaining to economic cooperation and integration in the wider region.

The MoU which was signed by Mr. Hassan Soroosh, Director General for Economic Cooperation, MoFA on behalf of RCRE and Dr. Orzala Nemat, on behalf of AREU will focus on “arranging joint events, improving research capacity and conducting research on common priority areas related to regional economic cooperation and integration issues based on the best international standards for the benefit of Afghanistan and the wider RECCA region.”

Our June issue of RECCA Newsletter is now available:
https://mailchi.mp/0f83da6ecd8d/recca-newsletter-403143

TAPI Gas Pipeline and Regional Integration discussed at the Herat Mining Conference

On June 22, 2019, the Herat Mining Conference was convened by the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum of Afghanistan with the participation of high-level officials and representatives from the private sector and civil society.
H.E. Nargis Nehan, Acting Minister of Mines and Petroleum and Mr. Abdul Qayoum Rahimi, Governor of Herat were among the keynote speakers.
The conference included three panels on legal and institutional reforms; investment opportunities; and TAPI gas pipeline project.
Mr. Hassan Soroosh, Director General for Economic Cooperation, MoFA spoke at the third panel on TAPI gas pipeline highlighting the importance of the project including with respect to economic growth, job creation, income generation as well as its contribution to the creation of economic corridor and to the broader context of regional economic cooperation and integration in the wider region.