Taliban pledge security, tax cuts to attract foreign investors in Afghanistan

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) – The interim Taliban administration on Wednesday invited foreign and domestic investors to invest in Afghanistan, pledging security across the country, tax cuts, and no bureaucratic red tape.

Steps are being taken to develop a five-year comprehensive national economic strategy to boost Afghanistan’s war-torn economy and attract foreign investors, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the acting deputy prime minister for economic affairs, said at a conference in Kabul organized by the Afghanistan-American Chamber of Commerce and the Afghanistan Business Council titled "Afghanistan's Commercial and Economic Relations."

"Currently efforts are underway to formulate a comprehensive national economic strategy for our nation for the next five years," he said at the conference, excerpts of which were posted by his office on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Baradar added that they are also forming a ministerial committee, and an economic advisory board comprised of experts, to facilitate domestic and foreign investors looking for opportunities in Afghanistan.

"Presently foreign investors arriving in Afghanistan are no longer required to navigate various institutions and bureaucratic hurdles instead they engage directly with a committee receiving comprehensive and timely information," he said.

He also invited investors to come and invest in the energy, mining, agriculture, transportation, infrastructure, communication, technology, and health care sectors, promising that his interim administration would not only welcome them but will also provide security and facilities throughout Afghanistan.

"We have established industrial parks, reduced taxes on raw materials and initiated the reconstruction of highways to stimulate business development in the near future," Baradar said, adding that Afghanistan will be connected to Iran's Chabahar port through a railway network in the near future, which will be a momentous leap forward in their transit capabilities.

While citing last week's signing of major mining contracts worth approximately $6.5 billion as an example of an investment opportunity in the war-torn country, he said that since the Taliban's return to Kabul, the country has seen a decrease in the prices of essential commodities and non-essential goods, while the banking system has advanced and exports have increased.

Last week, Afghan and Asian companies signed seven major mining contracts worth around $6.5 billion with the interim Taliban administration.

The contracts were signed in Kabul between the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum and private companies from Afghanistan, Türkiye, Iran, and China.