Afghanistan - Foreign investment

A 1967 law encouraged investment of private foreign capital in Afghanistan, but under the PDPA government, Western investment virtually ceased. Between 1979 and 1987, the former USSR provided technical and financial assistance on more than 200 projects, including various industrial plants, irrigation dams, agricultural stations, and a new terminal at the Kabul airport. After 1990, reconstruction investments from Russia, Japan, and the US were channeled through the United Nations. The Taliban called for Western support to help reconstruct Afghanistan, but Western donors—already reluctant to support UN programs in the country—did not respond. After the fall of the Taliban, head-of-state Hamid Karzai encouraged foreign countries for direct investment in Afghanistan, first to reach the people in the provinces who require salaries and owe taxes, and then to invest in businesses that would lead to industrial and technological development.