Taliban were ousted from power in late 2001 as result of US-led operation and a new window of hope and affluence opened for Afghanistan. One of the areas under international focus was to boost up Afghan economy by encouraging investments. Encouraging the private sector was deemed vital for reaching this purpose.

Attracting the foreign and domestic investment – in agriculture, industries (including mining), education, telecommunication, transportation and etc - fell among the key plans of the government and its foreign backers, although plans remained plans only.

The long-term conflicts have kept investors away from Afghanistan. This factor is majorly responsible for the concerning economic condition we have today. Afghanistan can be an attractive market for investors but due to lowest security level here, investment has gone decreasing over the last years – specially the foreign direct investments.

It is not only investment and economy; insecurity has negatively impacted all fields of life. If the condition persist as is, it is far difficult for Afghanistan to become self-reliant in economy.

Investment can play a very positive role in moving Afghanistan towards prosperity. However, all the efforts of international community and Afghan government aimed at boosting investment in Afghanistan and encouraging foreign investments have borne little fruit. When Afghans themselves are moving their capital out of their country, how come people from other countries can be motivated to invest in Afghanistan?

The planned withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan has put the future stability and integrity of this country at complete uncertainty and uncertainties are damaging for any business. From Bonn and Chicago summits to Tokyo conference, the international community pledged to support Afghanistan for a long term after withdrawal of NATO forces in 2014.

But the question that remains unanswered is whether the western allies are able to continue supporting Afghanistan financially once the security condition reaches its worst here. For investment to increase in Afghanistan there is need for a long term political stability.

Unskilled labor force, deep-rooted corruption, destructed infrastructures, drug trafficking, political instability, lack of proper electric power supply and several other such factors contribute to keeping investors away from Afghanistan. Nonetheless, all these factors can be countered over the passage of time.

The one thing the government and international community need to focus on is improving security. As good security is the key to economic prosperity.