US embassy cable - 03THEHAGUE3011

UNCLAS THE HAGUE 003011 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SA/AR, EUR/UBI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AF, EAID, ECON, NL 
SUBJECT: AFGHANISTAN:  DUTCH INDUSTRY TO STAGE CONFERENCE 
ON BIZ OPPORTUNITIES 
 
1.     The Dutch Chamber of Commerce and the National Center 
for Trade Promotion are sponsoring a conference on business 
opportunities in Afghanistan, to be held December 10 in 
Rotterdam.  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will send two 
speakers:  Ronald Mollinger, Ambassador at Large and Special 
Envoy for Afghanistan, and Wouter Biesterbos, senior official 
at the South Asia Division. 
 
2.     The stated goal of the conference is to highlight for 
the Dutch business sector the future potential opportunities 
that exist both in investment in Afghanistan and in 
participation in the country's reconstruction.  The 
conference is being organized by the membership organization 
"Dutch-Afghan Center for Trade Promotion" which is chaired by 
Afghan expatriate Ehsan Turabaz.  The organizers also expect 
to have a representative of Dutch bank ING and/or a spokesman 
from Price Waterhouse Coopers.  The Chamber has held two 
similar conferences on Iraq in the past year -- each was 
attended by around 200 participants. 
 
3.     The invitation letter states that Afghanistan has gone 
through extensive change:  "Stability is back, and there is a 
good political structure, next to which the economy is 
gradually taking shape."  The invitation also makes note of 
the reconstruction opportunities that will be made possible 
by the USD 500 million Afghan Reconstruction Trust Fund and 
identifies the government of the Netherlands as one of the 
fund's largest donors. 
 
4.     Embassy The Hague's Economic Section will send a 
representative to the December 10 conference. 
SOBEL