Da Afghanistan Bank, the central bank of that country, has sought assistance from the private sector banks in Pakistan for the services of skilled senior officials to assist in its daily operation.
A delegation of the Habib Bank Limited, which visited Kabul on Wednesday for the opening of its first branch there, was informed by Dr Anwarul Haq Ahady, governor, Da Afghanistan Bank, that he had relayed the request during his last visit to Islamabad and was awaiting a response.
The delegation comprising Khaleeq Kiani, Senior Executive Vice President, International Overseas Banking Group of the Aga Khan Foundation, Badar-ud-Din Qazi, Executive Vice President and Regional Chief Executive of HBL, Islamabad and Muslim-ul-Haq, Country Head, HBL Afghanistan, visited Kabul to officially launch the first ever branch of their bank there.
Another Pakistani bank that was already in operation there was the National Bank of Pakistan and the latest branch makes the number of foreign banks in Kabul to three. The other is a British-owned institution.
Dr Ahady informed the Pakistani bankers that the Hawala market (unofficial money exchange process) was loosing ground in Afghanistan because of two reasons: the private moneychangers were charging high arbitrage and secondly, his bank had started weekly auctions of foreign exchange.
He also said that the Swedish government was going to set up a banking training institute in Kabul to meet the future needs of skilled staff of various categories.
He informed the visiting Pakistani banking executives of the potential Afghanistan offered in the field of industries like textiles, food and fruit processing, construction and telecommunication and hoped the Pakistanis would double their efforts for his nation's reconstruction.
Speaking about the foreign trade of his country, Dr Ahady said Iran and India had become active in the field, but Pakistan remained the major partner in the field.
He quoted the figures given out by Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz that the volume of trade between Islamabad and Kabul had surpassed $ 600 million and hoped that with the arrival of a new bank from Pakistan, this figure would increase manifolds.
The Pakistani bankers told Dr Ahady that their institution was not new to his compatriots as during their forced residence in Pakistan, a large number of Afghans had been dealing with the Habib Bank.
It was generally agreed that opening of a third foreign bank in Kabul would strengthen the confidence of financial circles abroad and ultimately lead to the development of durable banking industry in Afghanistan.
It was noted that within three months' operation, the National Bank of Pakistan had established a strong and durable base in Afghanistan.
Similarly, the Habib Bank, which opened its business counters in Kabul a week or so before its official launching on Wednesday, has attracted good clientele.
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