Date:21/11/2002 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2002/11/21/stories/2002112103331200.htm

National

India to build key road in Afghanistan

By Amit Baruah

NEW DELHI NOV. 20. India has agreed to construct a 200-kilometre stretch of road in Afghanistan to facilitate transport of goods from the Iranian port of Chabahar to Afghanistan.

The Afghan Commerce Minister, Mustafa Kazmi, told The Hindu today that the Milak-Dilaram road would provide a direct link to the cities of Kandahar and Herat. Also, this would provide Indian goods easier access to Afghanistan and an alternative to the theoretical transit through Pakistan.

This will cut down the travel time to and from the busy Iranian port of Bandar Abbas as far as Indian merchandise is concerned. According to Mr. Kazmi, the Chabahar port and road link into Afghanistan is a trilateral initiative on the part of Kabul, Delhi and Teheran.

The road from Chabahar to Milak (in Afghanistan) was already available for use, he said. The Iranians were already building a bridge over the Milar river in order to firm up the link and had offered 90 per cent discount on port handling charges at Chabahar. "In the first week of December, an important meeting will take place between the three Governments and their private sectors," Mr. Kazmi, who is to attend a meeting of the newly-formed Indo-Afghan Business Association, said.

At the same time, Afghanistan was also talking to Islamabad about allowing the transit of Indian goods through Pakistan. "We are still talking to the Pakistanis about allowing transit of goods, but are looking for other routes to be opened (like through Chabahar),'' Mr. Kazmi said.

Under Taliban rule, it may be recalled, Pakistan was the principal transit point of nearly all goods entering land-locked Afghanistan. Kabul and Islamabad have a treaty allowing for the transit of goods into Afghanistan. Mr. Kazmi clarified that there was no restriction as far as the origin of goods was concerned in the transit treaty with Pakistan. (For their part, Indian officials understand that Pakistan is reluctant to permit the transit of Indian goods to Afghanistan).

Mr. Kazmi said that it was a "win-win situation" for private players who wanted to enter the country. "Technical discussions" were going on between India and Afghanistan to permit duty exemption on dry fruits, fresh fruits and medicinal herbs. (Such a facility can only be extended as part of a bilateral or multilateral arrangement to be WTO consistent, Indian officials pointed out). This duty exemption was being negotiated as part of a preferential trade arrangement between Afghanistan and India, Mr. Kazmi said.

Such an arrangement was also under discussion between Afghanistan and the United States.

"At the end of the day, what we see is a long-term relationship between Afghanistan and India. A new page has been opened in ties between the two countries," Mr. Kazmi said.

Asked whether the security situation in Afghanistan was ripe for business activity, he conceded that there were problems.

"After 23 years of war and conflict, some problems will be there," he admitted.

Mr. Kazmi stressed that the Afghan people were committed to the reconstruction of their country and that, in his view, was "the fundamental point".

Also, he said, the Central Government was in the process of strengthening itself.

"As the chief of the High Commission for Investment, I can give Indian investors the green light to invest," he said.

He took the view that the foreign assistance pledged to Afghanistan for the massive reconstruction effort should be channelled through the Government.

On the communication front, he said Saudi Arabia, the U.S. and Japan were reconstructing the Kabul-Kandahar-Herat road, the Italians the Kabul-Bamyan road and the Europeans the Kabul-Jalalabad link.