Embassy in London Holds Afghan British Business Forum
The Afghan Embassy in London hosted a business forum on February 15, 2019, in London with the participation of over 100 business people. The one-day forum aimed to create an opportunity for the Afghan diaspora and Afghanistan-focused businesses in the UK to connect, expand, and strengthen their business network in London. “ Our objective is to provide an intra-Afghan networking opportunity in order to create more synergy, to learn from each other’s expertise and experiences, and to identify new business opportunities . ”, said the Afghanistan Ambassador to the UK, Mr. Sayed Tayeb Jawad.
A wide array of UK-based and Afghan businesses across different sectors participated in the forum to discuss opportunities, challenges, and business topics such as UK-Afghan trade, franchising, digital marketing, legal requirements to establish a new business in the UK, entrepreneurship, and innovation around different discussion tables. The participants welcomed the initiative and endorsed the idea of establishing an Afghan British Business Council, acting as a unified body to support and promote Afghan businesses and products in the UK, identify and share new businesses opportunities, foster business exchange, and serve as a platform for Afghanistan-focused businesses to connect and communicate with each other.
The participants appreciated the idea of the Afghan Embassy in London to closely work with the UK government to establish a trade envoy office at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for Afghanistan. This would help strengthen bilateral economic and business relations between Afghanistan and the United Kingdom, while also positively contributing to the growth of existing Afghan-driven businesses in the UK.
The Afghan British Business Forum is one good example of a private-sector-focused growth strategy where the Afghan government serves as a platform that enables business exchange and facilitates investment and trade.
“Our objective is to provide an intra-Afghan networking opportunity in order to create more synergy, learn from each other’s expertise and experiences, and identify new business opportunities.”
– Mr. Sayed Tayeb Jawad
Afghanistan Ambassador to the UK
