The Ibn Sina Research and Development Centre has organized a groundbreaking conference this week in Kabul, Afghanistan, that is aimed to help put Afghanistan into the new paradigm of nations seeking a beautiful future of collaboration and economic development. The Nov. 6-8 conference, “Operation Ibn Sina: The Coming Afghan Economic Miracle,” has attracted scholars and guests from across Afghanistan as well as other parts of the world. Its stated aim is “to present a comprehensive plan for the economic reconstruction of the entire country, with the goal to turn Afghanistan into a middle level-income country in the foreseeable future.”
Some 500 guests were in attendance in the Intercontinental Hotel’s auditorium, with another 100 spilling out into the hallways, for the opening conference session, “We Greet the Mandate for Development.” Xinhua News reported that Afghanistan’s acting Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanekzai, kicked off the event; he called upon Afghan and foreign companies to invest in the war-ravaged country, and called upon Afghans living abroad “to return home and rebuild their country.”
One leading conference organizer reported that a common comment from participants after the opening day’s events, was that they now have a real sense of hope for the future of the country and its development. Participation was at a high level, with numerous Afghan government officials attending, including deputy ministers and the Deputy Prime Minister. A participant commented:
It’s been amazingly informative to speak with everyone. A real sense that Afghanistan is taking charge of its own future. No funding for this conference came from outside the country.
A Schiller Institute delegation will make presentations during proceedings on Tuesday, Nov. 7, focused on various topics of the economic reconstruction of the country. These workshop discussions include Agriculture and Water Development, Healthcare, Energy, Education, Transportation, Credit and National Banking, and Industry and Labor.
The Ibn Sina Research and Development Centre’s press release explained:
Obviously, the alleviation and subsequent elimination of the humanitarian crisis must be a priority. But that is sustainable only if there is a nationwide program of basic infrastructure like transport, energy, water management, communications, education and health care. Only if these basics are built in the entire country can productive agriculture and industry be developed.
For this goal, the Conference will present the economic plan called, “Operation Ibn Sina: The Coming Economic Miracle in Afghanistan,” worked out by the volunteer economists of the Schiller Institute, and provided to Afghan experts abroad and in Afghanistan, to analyze and prioritize its goals.
The transformation of Afghanistan into a stable, prosperous country is also in the interests of all of the country’s neighbors, since the geographic location of Afghanistan makes it an organic hub for much of the transport and trade between Central Asia, South Asia and Southwest Asia. The integration of Afghanistan into the corridors and infrastructure projects of the Belt and Road Initiative is in the interest of all Eurasia, as well as of Afghanistan.
This program and outlook is in the tradition of one of the greatest sons of Afghanistan, Ibn Sina, whose father was born in Balkh, in the north of the country, and who is one of the greatest physicians and universal thinkers of all time. What an excellent metaphor for a rich and beautiful future for Afghanistan!
