United Arab Emirates company Emirates Telecommunications (Etisalat) began operating in Afghanistan on Wednesday becoming the fifth mobile phone service provider and one of the biggest foreign investors.
With an investment of 300 million dollars, Etisalat's mobile phone network will initially cover Afghanistan's main cities, said the company's CEO for Afghanistan, Salem Al Kendi.
About three million of Afghanistan's estimated 25 million people have mobile phones, according to Afghan government officials. "It is a big achievement and success not only for Afghanistan, but to the entire world," Afghan Telecommunication Minister Amirzai Sangin said of Etisalat's launch.
Lack of infrastructure, red tape, rampant corruption and insecurity in parts of Afghanistan have all contributed to slow pace of private investment since the Taliban were ousted.