VZCZCXRO3620
RR RUEHLN RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHDBU #1512/01 2200936
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 080936Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8318
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 1743
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 1736
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 1697
RUMICEA/USCENTCOM INTEL CEN MACDILL AFB FL
RUEPGDA/USEUCOM JIC VAIHINGEN GE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/JCS NMCC WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 1706
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1750
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE 9647

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSHANBE 001512 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE. NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. 
REL NATO/AUST/NZ/ISAF 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON ETRD BEXP AF TJ
SUBJECT: BUILD MORE BRIDGES! AFGHAN BUSINESSMEN VISIT DUSHANBE 
 
REF: KABUL 1629 
 
DUSHANBE 00001512  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  "You can select your friends, but not your neighbors," said 
Sharif Saidov, Tajikistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry 
Chairman (TCCI).  "If your neighbor is calm, then you are 
calmer."  The August 3 visit of Afghan businessmen to Dushanbe 
underscored the calm on both sides of the border and the 
potential for greatly expanded commercial relations.  Four 
businessmen and two officials from the Department of Foreign 
Affairs in Kunduz, accompanied by the U.S. PRT officer and FSN 
in Kunduz, came north to reciprocate an April 6 visit made by a 
Tajik business delegation and EmbOffs (Reftel).  Following on 
the heels of the July 27 bilateral summit in Dushanbe, Afghans 
and Tajiks participants repeated the comments of Presidents 
Rahmonov and Karzai about the bonds of language and culture that 
connect their countries, and how trade relations could improve 
the prosperity and security of both countries. 
 
¶2.  "We are not maximizing our potential," noted Saidov, after 
welcoming his Afghan "brothers" to their "motherland." 
Statistics show Tajik-Afghan trade consists mainly of small 
numbers of shuttle traders crossing the border with consumer 
goods.  In an hour-long meeting, he proposed more joint 
roundtables and exhibitions to stimulate bilateral trade. 
Saidov noted that the Tajik parliament had passed a law in 1998 
making foreign investment and international trade easier, and 
that if Tajikistan developed its hydropower potential, it would 
have plenty of electricity to export to Afghanistan. "Tajikistan 
has some of the same reconstruction challenges as Afghanistan," 
he observed, describing the declining cotton harvest and 
struggling agricultural economy.  "Consider the TCCI your point 
of contact in Dushanbe," he offered, handing the visitors an 
English-language list of Tajik companies interested in doing 
business with the Kunduz representatives.  The Afghan Deputy 
Trade Attachi noted that several of the companies on the TCCI 
list were already active in Afghanistan, and the Tajik-Afghan 
business council had 75 small businesses in Dushanbe. 
 
¶3.  The Afghan delegation echoed Saidov's comments about peace 
leading to economic growth and the need to improve trade. "In 
1984, we exported raisins to the Tajik Consumer Union," 
remembered the Head of the Kunduz Chamber of Commerce."  Years 
of war had cut the commercial ties, and the economic base 
fueling them. "Our goals are now the same: cross border trade." 
He and Saidov agreed the U.S.-funded bridge at Nizhniy Pyanj, 
due to open in Summer 2007, would dramatically increase the 
potential for large scale trade and commerce, but even more 
bridges were needed to connect other parts of Afghanistan and 
Tajikistan. 
 
¶4.  In a meeting hosted by the Dushanbe Construction 
Association, the lively discussion focused on the practical 
aspects of cross-border commerce.  "Can anyone get me 5000 tons 
of diesel?" asked a Kunduz plastics producer. "What kind of 
banks can we use for transactions? Will a letter of credit 
suffice?" asked another businessman.  Given the demand for 
reconstruction in Afghanistan, the groups acknowledged the 
possibility of construction contracts, "not just one bulldozer, 
but a sustained supply of steel, cement and equipment." 
 
¶5.  However, corruption and bureaucracy on both sides of the 
border posed barriers.  Afghans and Tajiks also cited the lack 
of a trucking network as slowing trade-each individual driver 
and truck owner negotiated his own price.  Both countries have 
to import most raw materials, adding to costs.  Tajiks noted the 
lack of insurance for vehicles operating in Afghanistan, and 
Afghans complained how hard it is to get a Tajik visas.  In 
practice, such restrictions can mean goods have to be off-loaded 
from Tajik trucks and re-loaded onto Afghan trucks, or vice 
versa, costing the traders time and money.  (COMMENT: 
International donors have been telling the Tajik government for 
years the restrictive, and somewhat arbitrary visa regime 
impedes business. END COMMENT.) 
 
¶6.  After lunch, a visit to a small metal construction workshop 
left the Afghans observing that they already produced similar 
products in Kunduz, thus eliminating any interest in imports. 
(NOTE:  During the April 6 visit in Kunduz, the Tajiks similarly 
 
DUSHANBE 00001512  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
responded to visits to a flour factory and cotton processing 
facility, both of which exist at the same level of capacity and 
quality in Dushanbe. END NOTE.)  The groups parted by 
reaffirming their potential, and a few businessmen exchanged 
contact information with their Tajik counterparts. 
 
¶7.  The visit was a day trip.  The Afghans departed Kunduz in 
the early morning, crossed the temporary bridge at the U.S. 
construction site, and arrived in Dushanbe three hours later. 
After five hours of meetings, they headed back the same route. 
The Afghan delegation included: Haji Abdul Rasul, Chief of 
Kunduz Chamber of Commerce and head of Faiaz Ltd (exports and 
imports carpet and other goods from Turkey); Mir Agha, head of 
Amiri CC (building construction materials imports); Ahmadshah, 
Chief of Turk Slayman Ltd, (vehicles and vehicle parts imports 
and exports); and Akhtar Mohammad, Nisar Plastic; as well as 
Abdul Ghafar Sadid and Said Zamarudin from the Department of 
Foreign Affairs in Kunduz.  The Construction Association was 
represented by several Dushanbe constructions firms, including 
Sangreza Ltd, whose owner, Saobiddin Zayniddinov, participated 
in the April 6 trip to Kunduz and has been particularly eager to 
help set up trade in construction materials and aggregates. 
 
¶8.  COMMENT:  It was a small step, but it was forward motion. 
This day-long visit not only provided an opportunity for 
cross-border networking, but also highlighted how much goodwill 
and desire exists on both sides to help each other develop 
economically.  The Afghan Embassy retains two commercial 
attaches in Dushanbe, and both have enthusiastically embraced 
U.S. efforts to promote Afghan-Tajik relations.  Embassy 
Dushanbe looks forward to continued cooperation with PRT Kunduz, 
as well as the possibility of working with other PRTs looking to 
expand local ties with Tajikistan.  END COMMENT. 
HUSHEK