Diplomats are convinced Kyiv will weather bitter Competition
Afghanistan is called today a genuine gold mine. It was decided earlier this year that Kabul would receive $10 billion in aid in the next five years. The United States has promised $297 million, Japan $500 million, the European Union $500 million, Saudi Arabia $220 million, and Britain almost $300 million. An almost completely ruined country that has gone through war of 23 years, Afghanistan is again attracting some quite well-established investors. The Russians began their own “breakthrough” into the Afghan market almost immediately after the antiterrorist operation ended. It took Kabul and Moscow just a few months to draw up and sign an agreement on military and technical cooperation. Surprisingly, Ukraine just looked on. This attitude seems to have changed last week, when Kabul received Ukraine’s ambassador-at-large, Viktor Nahaichuk, and Ambassador of Ukraine in Uzbekistan and, concurrently, in Afghanistan, Anatoly Kasianenko. This is the first visit of such high-ranking Ukrainian diplomats to Afghanistan during the past few years. The Ukrainians met Afghan President Hamid Karzai and a host of ministers on October 23-27. In his interview with The Day, Viktor NAHAICHUK tells about the results of that visit and Ukraine’s prospects in the Afghan direction.
“Was the point of your visit to Kabul to put a message across to the Afghan leadership or to sound out the situation?”
“I would say both. Our main goal was undoubtedly to show Ukraine’s intent to closely cooperate with Afghanistan. But it is equally right to say we were making an on-the-spot study of the situation. This is important, especially in a country like Afghanistan, where you can only get the gist of things if you breath the local air and feel the pulse of life. Kabul is also serious about cooperating with us. The Afghan leadership faces huge challenges. This is another reason why you should go there and see what large-scale and complex problems the authorities have to handle.”
“Does Ukraine intend to help solve them?”
“Undoubtedly. We view our cooperation with Afghanistan primarily in the context of our involvement in the fight against international terrorism. This is not an abstract question for us. Our security and well-being depend on the situation in Afghanistan, because we have already felt the repercussions of the Afghan crisis. There still are a lot of Afghanis, including illegal immigrants, in Ukraine. Another problem that emerged following the Afghan crisis is the illegal transit and trafficking of drugs. Yet, we have always had friendly relations with that country. We have good traditions of cooperation, and we are prepared to further develop these. This was the chief message we wanted to put across to the Afghan side. Kabul highly appreciated Ukraine’s stand. They know that we allow our sky to be used by the antiterrorist coalition’s military cargo airplanes. They are aware of our principled and consistent position at the UN Security Council, where Ukraine, as a non-permanent member, participates in the political settlement of the Afghan problem. At the same time, although Ukraine and Afghanistan established diplomatic relations as long ago as 1995, we are still to conclude the requisite treaties. We agreed to begin working in this direction. We must sign a basic treaty on interstate relations, we have already drawn up an agreement on trade and economic cooperation. We also reminded the Afghan side that in Soviet times, hundreds of Ukrainian specialists took part in installing oil and gas production facilities, building irrigation systems, hydroelectric plants, etc. Thousands of Afghans studied in Ukraine. Some ministers we met in Afghanistan have a good command of the Russian language. The country is still full of Soviet- made equipment that needs repairing. The transportation infrastructure is in particularly dire straits. So there are, of course, great opportunities for us here.”
“Do you think Ukraine will stand up to bitter competition on the Afghan market, while Western states allocate funds for that country’s rehabilitation?”
“We are taking this into account. We are aware that the donor countries will do their best to have their companies working in Afghanistan. Yet, the Afghan side made it quite clear that, given the scale of work to be done in the state, Ukraine will be able to find its own niche. The Afghan government can manage and spend at its discretion the available funds. Of course, there are projects which the Ukrainians will find it difficult to take part in. For example, the construction of highways. But this does not mean we cannot participate in other fields. The Afghans will welcome even some small-scale investments from us. This will undoubtedly strengthen Ukraine’s position. We also discussed cooperation in a multilateral format, i.e., with the participation of Iran, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, etc.”
“Afghanistan still remains an unstable country. An attempt was even made on the president’s life last summer. Is not risky to send Ukrainian specialists to a country like this?”
“In Kabul itself, the situation is stable and calm. In any case, we heard no explosions or shots in the five days of our stay. Another proof of stability is that the curfew in Kabul was lifted the other day. The same situation reigns in most Afghan provinces, although some of them are still tense. This is, of course, taken into account when concrete projects are considered. Still, very many foreigners already work in Afghanistan. The Afghan leadership insists that the international community should not turn its eyes away from their country. There is a fear that the anti-Iraqi operation, now being planned by the United States, could divert a considerable part of efforts and resources to Baghdad.”
“Can there be any other use of Afghanistan? There are some hopes that Afghanistan will be able to supply gas to Ukraine in the future...”
“This could only be in the long term. There is another project soon to be implemented. I mean a trilateral project to lay a gas pipeline between Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Ukraine is interested in participation because it has already acquired the necessary experience in Central Asia. This pipeline, valued at a total $2.5 billion, will be about 1500 kilometers long. Islamabad, Kabul, and Ashgabat welcome our possible participation. The summit, during which the three countries will sign a gas transit agreement, is to take place in December. After this the parties will draw up a feasibility report and call international tenders.”
“Are you not afraid that more active cooperation between Ukraine and Afghanistan could touch off new allegations that Kyiv collaborated with the Taliban?”
“No. There is no reason why we should be afraid. We are trying to pursue a maximally transparent policy toward Afghanistan. Besides, we work here in conjunction with the United States. In other words, we do not hide our intentions, there is no secret information. We try to closely cooperate with our US and European partners...”
“Is Ukraine going to open an embassy in Afghanistan?”
“This is not ruled out. It will depend on the situation in that country and on how successful our relations will be.”
