Afghan official seeks Chinese investment

HERAT - Afghanistan's western Herat province has very conducive investment condition and welcomes Chinese companies to invest there, said the province's acting governor Asiludin Jami.

"The condition for investment is conducive in Herat. Herat's industrial park is ready for Chinese companies' investment," Jami told Xinhua in an exclusive interview recently.

Describing Chinese government's proposal to revive "Silk Road Economic Belt" as an initiative for bolstering connectivity among the regional countries and boosting economic activities in the region, the acting governor said, "Afghanistan, especially Herat province would largely benefit from revitalizing the Silk Road route and Afghanistan could even export its products to European countries if the ancient road is revived."

During Afghan president Mohammad Ashraf Ghani's visit to China last year, Herat and Tianjin had been announced as sister cities, the governor Jami said, adding a Chinese delegation would visit Herat in near future to evaluate the ways and means to increase trade transaction between the two cities.

He also called for the Chinese help and investment in completing the railway project connecting Iran to Herat. He added that the two-third of the railway has already been completed by Iran and the remaining one-third part of the project inside Afghan soil has yet to be completed due to fund shortage.

Enjoying relatively peaceful environment and having more than 100 small and medium plants and factories, Herat has been regarded as a developed and prosperous province in Afghanistan.