ISLAMABAD, Feb 26: Vice Chairman and the Finance Minister of Afghan interim government Hidayat Amin Arsala has asked the Pakistan’s private sector to greatly take part in the reconstruction effort by competing with other countries and by exporting quality goods to Afghanistan.

“Your private sector has a great scope, provided it enters into Afghanistan on the basis of competition and better goods and services,” he added.

Speaking at a joint news conference along with Minister for Finance Shaukat Aziz here on Tuesday he said that his country needed the support of the Pakistani private sector to undertake greater reconstruction activities in Afghanistan.

He also sought the support of banks and other financial institutions of Pakistan to help his country in various fields.

Mr Arsala had also met President General Pervez Musharraf and his other cabinet colleagues and discussed with them the matters of mutual interests. Later, he held a meeting with the presidents of the commercial banks and the representatives of the private sector in which Minister for Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood was also present.

Answering a question he said that the Afghan interim government was in the process of establishing banking and other financial institutions and needed the support of Pakistan government to achieve the desired results.

Asked about the 4.5 billion dollars announced by the international community, Mr Arsala said that more new pledges were being committed by those countries who did not attend the Tokyo conference.

Nonetheless, he conceded that his country was not having adequate disbursements due to which it was becoming difficult to improve things. “Perhaps we are not ready and have not developed the absorption capacity to have quick flow of funds,” he said. He expressed hopes that UN agencies will fulfil their commitments to offer required financial support for his country.

The finance minister told a reporter that there existed a lot of potential to cooperate in the fields like telecommunications, banks, gas pipeline, roads, etc.

He also said that Afghanistan will provide all support to Pakistan to reach central Asian markets.

Finance Minister Aziz disclosed that the government was considering to help start trade through Miran Shah area as well.