President Karzai is meeting world leaders in Beijing today on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's 12th summit. He would meet Chinese, Russian, Iranian and Pakistani counterparts. Afghanistan has been attending SCO summits as guest nation and it is expected that we will be granted the Observer Nation status in the organization.
Kabul should be active in the organization and seek full membership. For trade access to Central Asia and economic cooperation of SCO states, particularly in the wake of US and NATO withdrawal by 2014, Afghanistan needs closer relations with regional powers.
SCO member countries can play vital role in Afghanistan on security issues and economic stability in the region. With the withdrawal of the bulk of US and NATO troops by 2014, regional powers need to play vital role for security stability.
The Taliban militancy and Islamic terrorism by Al-Qaeda elements in Afghanistan still pose a serious threat for the region from Uzbekistan to Chinese Xinjiang Province. Afghanistan is the top poppy producing country in the world and it gets smuggled to the West through Central Asia and Russia. Drug trafficking can only be controlled through a comprehensive cooperation between SCO members.
President Karzai would meet President Hu Jintao and sign a partnership agreement with China for long-term cooperation, particularly in economic and security areas.
China is an important trade partner for Afghanistan. Though not huge, there is significant import and export trade between the two countries. But yet there is not a strategic channel for transport between the two countries. In 2008, there were talks of a plan on road construction at Wakhan border with China.
President Karzai had discussed the possibility of the project with President Hu Jinatao. However the proposal did not go any further. A direct road connection between China and Afghanistan is important for the increasing Chinese investment and Afghanistan needs land access to Chinese goods. It would also allow us quick access to South East Asia through Chinese ports. President Karzai should take up the plan with President Hu Jintao in Beijing.
The proposals of railway line from the mining deposits to China should also be evaluated. Metallurgical Group of China is investing $3.5 billion for the mining of the Aynak copper field in Logar. There were talks of construction of an electrical plant and a railway track from Tajikistan to Pakistan as part of project with $500million investment but it seems the Chinese company has walked away from that proposal.
The ever largest investment in Afghanistan by Metallurgical Group will not only create thousands of employment opportunities for Afghans, but also provide for more than half of government's annual budget. The proposal for railway track was suggested through Tajikistan and Pakistan. Feasibility of a direct line via Wakhan corridor has to be considered.
Both countries have previously signed several economic cooperation agreements such as Sino-Afghan Economic and Technological Cooperation Agreement, Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation, Exchange Letter for China Granting Zero Tariff Treatment to Certain Goods Originated in Afghanistan, Memorandum of Understanding on Agricultural Cooperation, Animal Husbandry and Food, Memorandum of Agreement between the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, Memorandum of Agreement between the Afghanistan Investment Support Agency and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.
The Chinese Government in 2006 announced zero-tariff to 278 categories of products to be exported from Afghanistan. The categories announced included goods such as cotton, silk carpets and farm products.
China needs to play larger role greater than an economic agenda. Kabul should seek for security cooperation agreements with Beijing, particularly training of our security forces. The strategic agreement on long-term cooperation is expected to include training of small number of security officials. But China should play a more active role. It cannot remain with a passive and low-profile political role after the huge investments having larger stake in stability and security in Afghanistan.
The strategic cooperation agreement will increase ties, however it would not be close to the strategic partnership agreements Afghanistan has recently signed with countries like the US, UK, Germany, France and India.