Relationship between Afghanistan and the U.S. will improve under a new American president

The relationship between the United States and Afghanistan will improve under the new American president said Said Tayeb Jawad-Ambassador of Afghanistan to the U.S. at a conference today. Jawad added that Afghanistan is “working hard with our American friends” to help in “not only fighting
terrorism,” but helping the economy and well-being of Afghan citizens.

Jawad said he was happy with the recent improvement in the economy in Afghanistan, but there was “further business potential.” He said the greatest improvements in Afghanistan’s economy have been made in telecommunications and mining. He added that “promoting investment opportunities” in Afghanistan internationally is important as well.

Chairman of the Institute for State Effectiveness, Ashraf Ghani said Afghanistan is at a “fork at the road” between a vicious circle and a virtuous circle. Ghani stated that the vicious circle included an economy that created an atmosphere where “people are forced to embrace the gun.” That would also create “new enemies” for the country, according to Ghani. He said that a virtuous circle would mean a
“stable” economy where the poor become “stakeholders in the system.”

Ghani added that Afghanistan had five “latent assets” that could drastically improve the economy of the country if used properly. He said they were water, geology, agriculture, location, and money. He
called these assets latent because they were not being used currently by the government. Ghani also said that water specifically was “critical to the region” and would be as valuable as oil in time.