VZCZCXRO7152
PP RUEHDBU RUEHIK RUEHPW RUEHYG
DE RUEHBUL #1648/01 1361421
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 161421Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8099
RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 4070

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 001648 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/FO (Deutsch), SCA/RA, AND SCA/A 
CENTCOM FOR CG CFC-A 
DEPT PASS AID/ANE, OPIC, AND TDA 
NSC FOR AHARRIMAN 
TREASURY PASS TO ABAUKOL, AND JCIORCIARI 
COMMERCE FOR DEES, CHOPPIN 
 
E.O. 12958 N/A 
TAGS: EINV BEXP ECON ASFC AF
SUBJECT: AFGHANISTAN - AICC'S SECURITY AND CORRUPTION ROUNDTABLE 
 
 
This message contains SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED information. 
Please protect accordingly. 
 
SUMMARY 
 
¶1. (SBU) Recent criminal activity directed at the business community 
has made many business leaders here nervous.  At a roundtable 
discussion hosted by the Afghanistan International Chamber of 
Commerce (AICC), Deputy Minister of Interior Khalid joined other 
senior government and private sector stakeholders in publicly 
expressing support for the private sector.  Each of the speakers at 
the event acknowledged the link between a stable security 
environment and a healthy private sector.  To win the confidence of 
business leaders, the Ministry of Interior needs to improve its 
track record by cracking down on criminal activity directed at 
businesses (robberies) and business leaders (kidnappings for 
ransom).  END SUMMARY 
 
OVERVIEW 
 
¶2. (U) The security and corruption roundtable, hosted by AICC, 
featured a number of high-profile speakers, including the Ministers 
of Agriculture and Commerce, the President of AICC, the Deputy 
Minister of Interior for Security, and the Parliament Chair of the 
Committee on Economy.  The common theme among all the speakers was 
that business leaders must have confidence in the security 
environment for serious investment to take root in Afghanistan.  The 
event attracted the major domestic media outlets and hundreds of 
members and private sector representatives. 
 
HIGHLIGHTS 
 
¶3. (U) The President of AICC, Azarakhsh Hafezi, kicked off the 
discussion by making several points.  He first said that the 
security of Afghanistan's democracy and civil society is 
strengthened by the private sector.  He mentioned, however, that not 
everyone in the government supports the private sector.  Hafezi 
linked the issue of public servants' salaries to security.  His 
position is that the GOA must improve the living standard for police 
if the security environment is to improve.  According to AICC's 
National Business Agenda, security ranks as the number one concern 
for business leaders in Afghanistan. Poor security has complicated 
AICC's efforts to raise the profile of investing in Afghanistan. 
(NOTE: Bank al-Falah, the National Bank of Pakistan, and a Turkish 
construction company were robbed in April. The Turkish company 
reportedly lost USD 300,000.  In addition, kidnapping of business 
leaders for ransom is a common occurrence.  END NOTE.) 
 
¶4. (U) Deputy Minister of Interior Khalid said that poverty and 
unemployment are a threat to Afghanistan's security.  DM Khalid 
pledged the Ministry of Interior's support for the private sector (a 
comment received with applause).  He took stock of the improvements 
already made among Afghan police forces and, looking ahead, 
predicted the emergence of a stronger Afghan police force.  He 
reported that the ministry has adopted a new system (involving 
training and recourse) to control and evaluate examples of 
corruption inside MOI. 
 
¶5. (U) Minister of Commerce Farhang reiterated that commerce 
requires security.  In support of his statement, he advised that he 
had recently reported to the cabinet that a company in Herat closed 
because of security concerns.  Citing the string of robberies in 
Kabul, Farhang stressed that these thefts make foreigners hesitant 
to invest in Afghanistan.  He urged the audience to report 
corruption instead of partaking in it.  Finally, he mentioned the 
low salaries police are paid, but also noted that some countries pay 
their police even less and yet have better security. 
 
¶6. (U) Lower House of Parliament Economy Committee Chair Kazeami 
laid out several actions that government should take: 1) consider 
rules and regulations to improve administrative stability; 2) 
coordinate and simplify GOA bureaucracy; and 3) engage with more 
than just ministry leadership with respect to corruption (i.e., 
spark a dialogue with deputies and mid-level bureaucrats about 
corruption).  Kazeami urged business leaders to bring the private 
 
KABUL 00001648  002 OF 002 
 
 
sector to the people; otherwise, he said, Afghans will think the 
private sector is just a temporary phenomenon.  He also encouraged 
the private sector to work to pull itself together and speak with 
one voice. 
 
¶7. (U) Minister of Agriculture Ramin expanded the scope of security 
to include the legal framework for the private sector, saying the 
legal community must ensure the business community is ruled by law. 
He urged Parliament to make the investment environment in 
Afghanistan friendlier to licit commercial activity and stressed 
that narcotics is a major challenge that Afghanistan will need to 
overcome. 
 
¶8. (U) A representative of the Afghan Bank Association raised 
concerns with MOI about its requirement that the banking industry 
notify MOI two days in advance of moving cash and the lack of 
progress in investigating bank robberies.  In the only other true 
roundtable moment of the event, Hafezi replied to the comment by 
Kazeami that the private sector should organize itself.  Hafezi said 
the private sector is in fact organized and united under AICC, if 
only the government does not undermine this positive, self-initiated 
arrangement. (COMMENT: Hafezi was referring to a Commerce Ministry 
initiative to establish the old, state-run Afghan Chamber of 
Commerce and Industry as the legal, national chamber of commerce. 
END COMMENT.) 
 
COMMENT 
 
¶9. (SBU) Rising criminal behavior, including armed robberies and 
kidnapping for ransom of business leaders, is increasing the risk 
profile for investors in Afghanistan.  The large turnout for this 
event is a strong indication of the level of concern among business 
leaders about the security environment.  The credibility of the MOI 
is low because the business community is unaware of any successes in 
arresting and incarcerating thieves and kidnappers.  This was not 
appreciably helped by the defensive tone of Khalid's remarks, which 
tended to confuse quantitative measures such as the number of new 
police added to the ANP with qualitative improvements that actually 
project an improved security environment to business leaders.  This 
roundtable was another demonstration of AICC's ability to draw 
senior officials to participate in its forums and to raise the 
profile of the concerns of Afghan business leaders. 
 
WOOD