Made in India trade show heads Kabul

Nine months after India reopened its embassy in Afghanistan, Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal will fly into Kabul later this month at the head...

Nine months after India reopened its embassy in Afghanistan, Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal will fly into Kabul later this month at the head of a big business delegation that finally signifies New Delhi’s new intent to integrate money with foreign policy initiatives abroad.

Having been banished from the Taliban-led Afghanistan for nearly a decade—and having returned with both access and influence in the Hamid Karzai-cum-Northern Alliance administration—the government is now backing a major business exhibition in Kabul from September 26-29 that hopes to not only displace Pakistan-made goods in the long term but also piggyback on the massive American effort in Afghanistan.

Coordinated by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), the ‘‘Made in India’’ show will showcase over 150 Indian companies at the exhibition ground built by the Germans in Kabul for the loya jirgah in May. The show is expected to work on its own steam, by financing its own chartered plane to Kabul and back and arrange the transportation of goods by Ariana Airlines or ship (via the much longer route through Iran).

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There are big names here, the likes of Godrej and Hindustan Motors and Eicher, as well as lesser-known ones like SAF Yeast Co (manufacturing yeast, icing sugar and bakery items) and Meso Pvt Ltd (non-alcoholic perfumes, talcum powders, hair oils). Even as an Indo-Afghan Business Forum will be launched on September 26, a function everyone hopes will be attended by Ashraf Ghani, economic advisor to Karzai.

Piyush Bahl, the head of CII’s international division, acknowledges that he has told participants that ‘‘they will have to compete with both China and Pakistan, and therefore sell goods that are not only price but also quality sensitive.’’

Added Bahl, ‘‘Kabul is quite a happening city today.’’ So now we know.