Russians to assess investment opportunities in the infrastructure sector of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

The Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) on Monday said a high-ranking delegation of Russian officials will visit Kabul in October to discuss investment opportunities in the country. According to ACCI, Russia is interested in investing in Afghanistan’s infrastructure, construction and power generation. At a recent meeting between ACCI officials and Russian embassy staff in Kabul, Russian officials said they are keen to invest in different sectors in Afghanistan and that a delegation will come from Russia to discuss the issue. “We will hold face to face discussions with Russian and Afghan investors and it will be helpful in expanding trade ties,” said Atiqullah Nusrat, deputy head of ACCI. According to ACCI, Russian embassy officials said Moscow is ready to give Afghanistan custom privileges in a bid to increase Afghanistan’s exports to Russia. Ministry of Commerce and Industries (MoCI) meanwhile said they are trying to attract Russian investment in Afghanistan. “Russia's investments in Afghanistan would be very effective in creating job opportunities, improving the economic situation and is a good use of the resources,” MoCI spokesman said. Russia is one of the countries that invested a lot in Afghanistan before the civil war and already statistics show that the trade volume between Afghanistan and Russia totals about USD 150,000,000 annually. Commerce and industries ministry officials said if Russia considers custom privileges for Afghan goods, it will pave the way for the expansion of trade between the two countries.
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Whistleblowers and investigative journalists the only way to let the world know who are the corrupt officials in Afghanistan

Encouraging whistleblowers in Afghanistan to securely submit all forms of content that might be of public concern > https://www.icij.org/securedrop

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) encourages whistle-blowers everywhere to securely submit all forms of content that might be of public concern - documents, photos, video clips as well as story tips.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists accepts all information that relates to potential wrongdoing by corporate, government or public service entities in any country, anywhere in the world. We do our utmost to guarantee the confidentiality of our sources.

ICIJ’s motives are squarely aimed at uncovering important government and corporate activities that might otherwise go unreported, from corruption involving public officials to systemic failure to protect the rights of individuals. Journalists from the relevant countries will evaluate and pursue all leads and content submitted and, if merited, report on these issues.

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There are a number of basic safety measures you can take to protect yourself when providing sensitive or confidential information. For instance, details of phone calls made from a large building are often recorded on the building's electronic systems; details of mobile phone calls are routinely collected by providers and government authorities; and details of network access and internet use can be recorded and stored at a number of junctions along the way. It is safer to use a public phone when contacting a reporter, just as it is safer to use an internet cafe when sending files.

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Исламский банк развития (ИБР) предоставил Афганистану ссуду на строительство Кабульской кольцевой дороги

Соглашение о перечислении 74,000,000 долларов США на проект было подписано вице-президентом ИБР Саидом Ака и министром финансов Афганистана.

Строительство Кабульской кольцевой автодороги является высокоприоритетным проектом для развития столицы, поскольку позволит соединить Кабул со всеми проходящими рядом автотрассами. Общая стоимость проекта составляет около 108,000,000 долларов США, а протяжённость, около 97 км. Более 30 млн. долларов США оплатит афганское правительство.

An Afghan farmer said the lucrative ostrich farming industry has resulted in his initial USD 50,000 investment doubling

An Afghan farmer, with his brothers, has started farming with ostriches in the western Afghan province of Herat. Mr. Ahmad Sharifi, said he will soon start selling ostrich meat on the open market. According to him, they started the farm with only a few breeding ostriches but their numbers have grown very quickly. “We can breed 40 to 50 chicks from every female ostrich annually. In addition to this, we can sell other products such ostrich eggs, meat, oil and skin to the market,” said the Herat farmer. He eplained they had brought in special incubators for the eggs in order to hatch chicks. These incubators can hold about 450 eggs at a time. “We bought two incubators and each one has the capacity to hold about 450 eggs. We want to expand our farm in Herat and in other provinces,” a shareholder of the ostrich farm said. The farmers invested USD 50,000 in the farm, but they say their investment has now doubled. Meanwhile, Herat’s agriculture, irrigation and livestock department said a number of these ostriches will be moved to other provinces in order to start up ostrich farming around the country. “We will do our best and will use all our equipment to support the ostrich farm and expand it in Herat,” the head of the agriculture expansion department of Herat’s agriculture directorate said.

Департамент гражданской авиации Афганистана продлил лицензию афганской авиакомпании 'Kam Air' и удовлетворил запрос руководства на организацию полётов в Европу

Афганская авиакомпания 'Kam Air' объявила о готовности начать перелёты в Европу, как только ЕС снимет запрет на деятельность афганских авиакомпаний на своей территории. 

После девятимесячного разбирательства лицензия компании была продлена. В настоящее время руководство ждёт, когда ЕС удалит афганские авиакомпании из чёрного списка, чтобы начать организацию авиарейсов в страны Европы. Замдиректора Kam Air настроен оптимистично и планирует начать авиасообщение с ЕС в ближайшем будущем. В распоряжении компании имеется закупленный в прошлом месяце самолёт AirbusA340  с максимальной дальностью перелёта до 16 тыс. километров. Он может перевозить до трёхсот пассажиров единовременно. Афганские авиакомпании попали в чёрный список ЕС шесть лет назад, из-за многочисленных нарушений в управлении и обслуживании.

Afghanistan revenue for 2017 from the mining sector should have been USD 1 billion but in the first half of the year has been earned only USD 15 million

The Natural Resources Monitoring Network (NRMN) criticized government for not reaching its revenue collection target from the mining sector for 2017. According to the watchdog, the projected income should have been about USD 1 billion but only USD 15 million has so far been earned. 
The monitoring network said this was extremely low for a country that was potentially so wealthy in terms of minerals. The network said based on the National Development Strategy, the revenue from the mining sector should have been USD 1 billion. The officials accused mines of embezzling money and said bad management was to blame. “For the past three years, mines are being managed very badly – in fact we can say that mines are not being managed,” said Ibrahim Jafari, a member of NRMN. Meanwhile, the ministry of mines acknowledged that revenue generation had dropped over the past few years. The ministry’s spokesman, Abdul Qadeer Mutfi, said they are reviewing contracts and are working on a strategy for mines and once the strategy has been finalized, measures will be implemented to grow the sector and increase revenue. “Our annual revenue has decreased because big contracts have not been signed and small contracts have been suspended,” said Mutfi.
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China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Iran to meet soon in Teheran to discuss Railway Plan

Representatives from regional countries are expected to meet within the next three months in Iran to discuss plans for a new railway line that runs through five countries: 
China, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Iran.

According to studies prepared by the Afghanistan Railway Authority, about 50% of the total railway line will pass through the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

The Afghanistan Railway Authority says that construction works will kick off very soon. The 2,200 km long railway line will cross through Afghanistan from the northern province of Kunduz to Herat province at the Iran-Afghan border.