India-Afghanistan trade show kicks off in Delhi

By Ashoke Raj
New Delhi [India], Sept 24 (ANI): India-Afghanistan third annual trade show is underway in the capital here, with an aim to attract the Indian buyers and boost the trade and investment between two countries.
The theme of the show is 'Passage to Prosperity'. The trade show brings together Afghan exporters and Indian buyers for an annual exhibition of Afghanistan's finest products, such as hand-woven carpets, embroidery, gems and jewellery, as well as fruits, nuts, and spices.
While talking to ANI, Afghanistan's Charge d'Affaires, Tahir Qadir, spoke about increasing the number of women entrepreneurs in the afghan region and said, "We are talking about the country which suffered four decades of war...now imagine we are talking about the country where a new generation has emerged after the 9/11 attacks. The Afghan women are much braver, they are stronger in society, and we have a much stronger presence in society today. We have got so many women working in different states."
"Women are coming out of the houses and running the business and it is a great opportunity for them," said Qadir while adding that the government is providing facilities to the Afghani women to empower them and make them emerge as business leaders.
Lauding the ties between the two countries, he asserted that imagining India and Afghanistan without each other is impossible.
"Imagining Afghanistan without India and India without Afghanistan is impossible. The relationship has always been cherished and it goes deep, from cultural relationship to trade relationship and from people to people connect," he said.
"We have got many trade relationships with India. The biggest one I can name is the free air corridor. We export fresh food, saffron, carpets and many other things to India. Chabahar is another milestone for connecting Afghanistan to India," Qadir added.
The India and Afghanistan trade show includes matchmaking events for buyers and sellers to exchange information, network, and negotiate deals. More than 1,000 Indian private sector representatives attended the event. During last year's "Passage to Prosperity", contracts worth $71 million were signed between Indian buyers and Afghan vendors.
In addition, a number of Indian buyers and Afghan vendors signed nearly $292 million in pre-contract agreements. (ANI)