6th Annual U.S.-Afghanistan Business Matchmaking Conference 2010

November 7-9, 2010

MCLEAN, Va., Nov. 18, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Afghan-American Chamber of Commerce (AACC) held its 6th annual U.S.-Afghanistan Business Matchmaking Conference in Washington, D.C. on November 7th to 9th. It was held at the Ronald Reagan Building -- International Trade Center with related activities held at the Marriott Metro Center Hotel.

Some 375 participants including businessmen and women, financial organization representatives and government officials, attending from Afghanistan as well as the U.S., registered for the conference. In his welcoming remarks, AACC Chairman Sulaiman Lutfi stated, "We are here to recognize the immense value of the private sector and the market economy to a stable Afghanistan and to take advantage of the many opportunities to build profitable businesses there."

The conference focused on ways in which U.S. companies can tap into business opportunities in Afghanistan and the value of partnering with Afghan companies and entrepreneurs. The opening Keynote Address by the Afghan Minister of Economy, Hadi Arghandiwal, set the tone for the conference with his emphasis on efforts and progress in furthering key commercial sectors. He pointed to examples of transparency and good economic governance that can lead the way to an improved climate for business in Afghanistan. His remarks were reinforced the next day by the Afghan Minister of Commerce, Anwar Ahadi, whose address outlined detailed progress in the development of a true market economy. He said that efforts at better regulation of what is a robust banking sector, improvements in the court system, and yeoman efforts by private companies to grow their businesses and contribute to job expansion, are paying off; the economic growth rate is averaging in the near double digits while exports last year, albeit from a relatively low number, increased by 30%. "This economic progress is due mainly to the robust efforts of individual Afghan entrepreneurs and companies," the President of the Afghan Investment Support Agency, H.E. Minister Advisor Noor Delawari stated, backing up the observation of the Commerce Minister.

On the U.S. side, key officials continued in the direction of these remarks. Major General Jeffrey Dorko, the Deputy Commander of the U.S. Corps of Engineers, described the expanding programs of infrastructure development, organizational realignment to manage this effort, and the focus on training Afghan associates to manage quality improvement. Mr. Alex Thier, the Director of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Office in the U.S. Agency for International Development, described the agency's long-term commitment to encourage economic development while insuring that greater benefits of USAID programs go to local communities. Mr. Frank Ruggerio, the Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan-Pakistan (SRAP), reinforced this message with his description of the four priorities in U.S. government support: new business growth, legal reform, increased economic growth, trade, and expanding help for business, including financial assistance.

Complementing these keynote addresses, expert panels addressed opportunities in agriculture and food processing, expanding telecommunications and information technology sectors, mining and minerals development, construction logistics and training, and business support programs. These panels addressed the practical experiences of foreign businesses and investors, opportunities for U.S. companies, and the Afghan perspective on commercial opportunities.

Opportunities for private discussions were provided by an evening Welcoming Reception, networking breaks between meetings, business luncheons and a Mix & Mingle Dinner Reception featuring the presentation of the AACC Businessperson of the Year Award to Mr. Abdul Ghafoor, Chairman and CEO of RANA Enterprises, a company comprising information technology and agribusiness.

One-on-One networking discussions were initiated where AACC arranged for individual consultations between attendees and panelists and speakers from relevant businesses, trade associations and government agencies, again both U.S. and Afghan. MOUs between U.S. and Afghan businesses were encouraged.

In order to engage the best and brightest in moving forward a potentially vast economic opportunity, AACC announced a Working Group on Mining and Natural Resource Development following the Mining Panel. Some twenty attendees signed up for the new "virtual think tank," in the words of AACC President, Don Ritter. Many more were already engaged pre-conference and others are welcome to join in. This AACC web-based international body of contributors from the private sector and government will strive to assist in positive policy-making, investment promotion and enhanced personnel strength for both the mining sector and respective engaged governments. The goal is to foster a robust, salutary and profitable minerals and hydrocarbons economy.

Finally, AACC announced a new Chapter Development initiative featuring its first-out-of-box, California Chapter, AACC West.

Overall, conference sponsorship was way up and sponsors were provided with ample opportunity to communicate their interests to the conference audience. AACC is deeply grateful for those sponsors who literally made the conference possible with their generous support.

SOURCE Afghan-American Chamber of Commerce