Linkage to Country/Regional Strategy |
Since the Project is designed to promote economic growth through improved telecommunications (benefiting all productive sectors and consumers) and related spill-over effects, it is fully in line with the country strategy and program update(CSPU)'s assertion that ADB's entire public sector lending program for 2005-2008 will be allocated to economic growth. The CSPU specifically mentioned telecommunications as an area offering private sector investment opportunities. The nationwide coverage, focusing on rollout into rural towns, further supports the CSPU in that it would contribute towards "reducing rising inequalities in incomes in different regions as well as gaps between urban and rural areas."
Roshan's active efforts to promote regional integration via interconnection agreements with operators in neighboring countries are also in line with ADB's CSPU pledge to support activities that will strengthen Afghanistan's links with its regional neighbors, and that "more efforts will be made to incorporate a regional dimension in loan projects, such as ...ensuring connectivity with regional...grids". The CSPU explicitly states that no change is anticipated in ADB's deep engagement in the telecoms sector (via the existing loan to Roshan, and also through ADB's membership in the consultative group for energy, mining and telecoms), as "ADB's private sector support to the telecommunications sectors" is "highly appreciated" by the Government of Afghanistan.
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