FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, May 24, 2002

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Lawrence Spinelli (202) 336-8690
Timothy Harwood (202) 336-8744

OPIC EXPLORES U.S. INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN MISSION TO AFGHANISTAN

Connelly joined by TDA on trip

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A delegation from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (TDA) conducted an exploratory investment mission to Afghanistan this week to assess opportunities in the telecommunications and tourism industries, and meet with senior Afghan officials. The mission was part of the Bush Administration’s ongoing commitment to provide assistance to the war-torn region.

Ross Connelly, executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), and Carl Kress, TDA chief of staff, met with senior members of several Afghan ministries and other high-level officials. Their visit included meetings with Afghan Communications Minister Ing. Abdul Rahaim Saidian, Reconstruction Minister Amin Farhang and Civil Aviation and Tourism Minister Zalmay Rassoul. U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Robert Finn also attended the meetings.

The trip was the latest development in the Bush Administration’s commitment to the reconstruction of post-Taliban Afghanistan. President Bush announced in January that OPIC, the U.S. Export-Import Bank, and TDA would work together to help identify Afghanistan's investment needs and opportunities for U.S. private sector participation in reconstruction. 

OPIC announced in January that it would establish an initial $50 million line of credit to support U.S. investment in Afghanistan.  That announcement followed an OPIC co-hosted conference in January that represented the first high-level discussion of U.S. private sector involvement in post-Taliban Afghanistan.  The event assembled more than 40 Afghan-American business leaders and senior U.S. officials to outline investment opportunities in the war-torn country. 

OPIC was established as an independent agency of the U.S. government in 1971. It helps U.S. businesses invest overseas, fosters economic development in new and emerging markets, complements the private sector in managing risks associated with foreign direct investment, and supports U.S. foreign policy. Because OPIC charges market-based fees for its products, it operates on a self-sustaining basis at no net cost to taxpayers.

Over the agency’s 30-year history, OPIC has supported $142 billion worth of investments that have helped developing countries to generate over $11 billion in host-government revenues and create over 673,000 host-country jobs. OPIC projects have also generated $64 billion in U.S. exports and create more than 253,000 American jobs.