VZCZCXRO3116
PP RUEHDBU RUEHPW RUEHSL
DE RUEHBUL #3465/01 3020729
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 290729Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2598
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 003465 
 
SIPDIS 
AIDAC 
 
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SIPDIS 
 
E.O.12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID ETRD BEXP ECON ELAB PHUM SCUL OPIC PGOV AF
SUBJECT: Commerce Minister Shahrani highlights U.S.-Afghan Business 
Development 
 
REF: Kabul 3184 
 
¶1. Summary: Afghan Minister Shahrani praised current USAID-funded 
Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) development activities to Amb. 
Wayne, noting especially USG support to strengthen Afghan 
value-added in the carpet and cashmere industries.  Shahrani also 
wants to provide additional economic opportunities for women and 
welcomed Amb. Wayne's suggestion to tap into the U.S.-Afghan Women's 
Council.  Shahrani noted success with USAID-sponsored job training 
programs and industrial park development, and requested additional 
support to expand both programs.  End summary. 
 
¶2. Afghan Minister of Commerce and Industries (MOCI) Wahidullah 
Shahrani met Coordinating Director for Development and Economic 
Affairs (CDDEA) E. Anthony Wayne October 22 to review and discuss 
the progress of current USAID Afghanistan Small and Medium 
Enterprise Development (ASMED) project activities.  A German 
technical advisor to the Export Promotion Agency of Afghanistan 
(EPAA) and MOCI advisors accompanied the Minister.  Embassy Kabul 
USAID and ASMED staff and Deputy Economic Counselor accompanied Amb. 
Wayne. 
 
¶3. Minister Shahrani expressed appreciation for ASMED's support for 
approximately ten international fairs annually, including the 
upcoming International India Trade Fair (IITF) in which 40 Afghan 
companies will participate.  USAID and EPAA said they were reviewing 
plans for Afghan participation in trade shows in Germany, Dubai, Las 
Vegas, New York, and Seattle in the next year. 
 
Increasing Value Added in Afghan Carpets... 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  Minister Shahrani praised the carpet cut and wash facilities in 
Jalalabad, installed through ASMED, and requested support for 
additional facilities in the North and West of the country, where 
there is significant carpet weaving.  The ASMED-backed cut and wash 
facilities function as regional cooperatives which local carpet 
makers can utilize.  USAID noted its plans to replicate its two 
pilot facilities in Jalalabad and Kabul, incorporating the lessons 
learned from those programs.  USAID is also carrying out 
environmental impact assessments for the new plants, to help ensure 
chemicals in the waste water from the plants are properly mitigated. 
 
 
... and Cashmere 
---------------- 
 
¶5. USAID officers described efforts to tie ASMED's program to help 
farmers improve goat and cashmere production with OPIC's investment 
discussions to establish cashmere de-hairing and degreasing 
facilities in Herat.  OPIC visited Afghanistan in early October to 
look at the Herati cashmere industry (reftel).  The investment could 
provide up to 75,000 full time equivalent jobs throughout the value 
chain from herders to finishers.  Minister Shahrani noted his 
enthusiasm for the project and his recent meetings with OPIC in 
Kabul as well as Washington. 
 
Increasing Economic Opportunities for Women 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. Minister Shahrani highlighted the important role that Afghan 
women play in carpet production and other handicrafts and emphasized 
efforts to improve quality and marketing should be expanded in order 
to provide more opportunities for women.  Ambassador Wayne mentioned 
a number of possible resources, including the Afghan-U.S. Women's 
Council, which advocates for female entrepreneurs.  He said 
Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues Melanne Verveer has 
expressed strong interest in supporting Afghan women and 
facilitating networking between U.S. and Afghan entrepreneurs.  The 
Minister suggested the Herat's Women Association, which focuses on 
handicrafts, would benefit from such assistance.  USAID/ASMED 
mentioned ongoing efforts to supply Sam's Club with Afghan high 
quality traditional products of handicrafts, gemstones and carpets 
in limited quantities in three to four outlets in California. 
 
Training Afghans, Employment and Business Parks 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶7. Noting his visit with Ambassador Wayne in Mazar-e-Sharif to an 
ASMED training program at Balkh University, Shahrani said he was 
 
KABUL 00003465  002 OF 002 
 
 
very impressed with the quality of the graduates and requested the 
number of internships be increased and the training course 
lengthened and duplicated in other universities in Afghanistan.  He 
said the graduates were highly enthusiastic and had reported they 
had already secured jobs.  USAID officials noted over the past three 
years 1050 interns from ten provinces had completed the program and 
it is targeting 900 interns in the next year.  ASMED plans to 
introduce the program to an academic-private sector partnership to 
provide sustainability.  Ambassador Wayne recommended tracking 
program graduates to measure the program's impact on long-term 
employment. 
 
¶8. Minister Shahrani was enthusiastic about the success of the 
Bagrami Industrial Park in Kabul, now fully operational.  He 
mentioned his request to USAID (currently under review) to support 
three additional industrial parks, in Senjid - Dara, Dawlatabad, and 
Khost.  Shahrani said MOCI could provide the land for the parks. 
The USAID supported Industrial Park in Mazar-e-Sharif was completed 
last year and seven companies have started building their 
facilities.  The industrial park in Kandahar is under construction. 
Note: During TIFA discussions in Washington, Shahrani mentioned the 
industrial parks as an Afghan-U.S. success story.  End note. 
 
EIKENBERRY