Afghan Prez goes bullish on economy, says fight against terror going in right direction

Sounding bullish on economic growth prospects of his war-hit country, Afghanistan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani said on Wednesday the fight against terror is going on in the right direction and it's time to develop the country's "richness".

"It's been five years and despite all the gloom and doom predictions that we will collapse, we are still there. We have taken over areas after areas from Taliban. Security is a problem but the direction we are going in is the right direction," Ghani said at the WEF 2020 here.

On US troops, the president said the key issue is the bilateral understanding between Afghanistan and the US and the numbers can change.

Asked whether he expects full withdrawal of US troops, he said, "Of course.... there is an uncertainty... The key question is what is the terror threat? The non state actors are responsible.

He also said he has no problems dealing with US President Donald Trump. "I'm among the few leaders who has an excellent relationship with him."
"Now we need to develop the richness of our country. A key is our human capital with significant women participation and we also have immense potential in renewable energy. We need to accept that 40 years of violence has taken its toll. We need to move beyond this now. There is an agricultural revolution underway."
He rejected the perception about a growing relationship with Russia. "That's a misperception. They have not made any investment, though we wish they had."