24 September 2006
Afghan Leader To Meet with U.S. Executives on Business Linkages, September 24, 2006(Talks part of Businesses Building Bridges initiative to aid private-sector growth)
By Howard Cincotta
Washington File Special Correspondent
Washington -- President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan will meet with high-level U.S. business executives in Washington September 25 to explore ways of promoting private-sector development and partnerships in his country, the State Department says.
The meeting is part of the Businesses Building Bridges initiative that President Karzai and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice launched on January 30 in advance of the London Conference on Afghanistan, a gathering of high-level government delegations and representatives from international organizations to chart the future of international engagement with Afghanistan. (See related article.)
According to a State Department fact sheet, the goal of the initiative is "to demonstrate the commitment of the U.S. business community to help train Afghan entrepreneurs, to identify practical means to improve the Afghan investment climate and to enhance commercial and economic linkages." (See fact sheet.)
Karzai is scheduled to meet with the seven executives who are leading the initiative: David Murdock, chairman and chief executive officer, Dole Food Company, Inc.; Len Rodman, chairman, president and chief executive officer, Black & Veatch Corporation; Carol Bartz, chief executive officer, Autodesk, Inc.; Barbara Barrett, owner and president, Triple Creek Guest Ranch; Joie Gregor, vice chairman, Heidrick and Struggles; Irv Bailey, senior advisor, Chrysalis Ventures; and Mike McCullough, former chief executive officer, Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc.
For more information on U.S. policy, see Rebuilding Afghanistan.
The text of the announcement can be found on the State Department Web site.
