A. With the siege of power in Afghanistan by the militant sect Taliban, bilateral trade between India and the country is currently at high risk, the Confederation of Indian Traders (CAIT) cautioned on Tuesday. The traders’ association also alerted domestic exporters and urged the Centre to forestall any potential business losses.
The CAIT statement listed dry fruits such as raisins, almonds, pistachios, figs, apricots and pine nut among India’s imports from Afghanistan. Fresh fruits, including watermelon, cherry and apricots, and medicinal herbs are also imported.
B. India’s exports to Afghanistan include beverages like tea and coffee, spices like pepper, footwear, toys and other consumer goods.
Valued at $1.4 billion in 2020-21 (down from $1.52 billion in 2019-20), the bilateral trade between the two countries could be hit on account of inflation, disrupted supply chains and stranded consignments.
C. CAIT said that several traders faced substantial losses and asked the government to intervene on their behalf.
D. Is India’s investment in Afghanistan down the drain :
Taliban has now captured Afghanistan after 2 decades. India had enjoyed excellent diplomatic relations with the erstwhile government of Afghanistan and played a pivotal role in the rebuilding process there. Facts about Indo-Afghan trade & investment ties:
1. India has played an active role in the nation rebuilding process over the last 2 decades
2. India has invested heavily in Afghanistan is due to the country’s importance as a strategic ally in South Asia
3. The government has invested more than $3 billion in Afghanistan including investments in over 400 infrastructure projects
4. In 2011, the two nations signed an agreement that helped enhance trade and bilateral ties further.
5. As of 2019-20, bilateral trade between India and Afghanistan was estimated to be over $1 billion
6. One of the key India-funded projects in Afghanistan is the Salma Dam or the Afghan-India Friendship Dam project. It is a hydropower and irrigation project that was completed and launched in 2016.
7. The Zaranj-Delaram highway, a 218-km path built by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) also counts as a flagship Indian project in Afghanistan. The cost of building the highway near the Afghanistan-Iran border is estimated to be $150 million. The highway provides access to Iran’s key Chahabar port and is strategically important to New Delhi.
8. The Afghan Parliament is another high-profile project completed by India at a cost of $90 million.
9. India had even announced 100 community development projects worth $80 million in Afghanistan last year. An agreement for the construction of the Shatoot Dam in Kabul district — a project that aimed to provide drinking water to roughly 2 million residents — was also signed more recently.
10. This is besides the technical and technological support New Delhi has provided to Afghanistan as part of capacity building for infrastructure and institutional projects.
11. At the Afghanistan Conference in Geneva, Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar said that “No part of Afghanistan today is untouched by the 400-plus projects that India has undertaken in all 34 of the country’s provinces”.