Abu Dhabi
Around 120,000 Afghan expatriates in the UAE will get one more year to register themselves at their diplomatic missions and get a new ID card, a top diplomat told Gulf News.
“The process started a bit late and we have extended the registration process for another one year [until August 2019]. All Afghan expatriates, men, women and children, can get registered at the Afghan Embassy in Abu Dhabi or the Consulate General in Dubai,” said Abdul Farid Zikria, the Afghan Ambassador to the UAE.
As Gulf News reported in November 2017, the embassy planned to launch the registration process as part of an Afghanistan government initiative to create a database of its nationals in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council). The first phase will cover around 155,000 expatiates living in the GCC, except in Saudi Arabia. Around 200,000 Afghans in Saudi will be registered in the next phase, Zikria said.
The new ID card will be mandatory for Afghan expats to access consular services at the embassy and the consulate, he said.
The envoy said the procedure is very simple and the ID cards will be issued immediately after the registration.
About 60 per cent of the Afghan expatriates in the UAE are from Khost province and majority of them [60 per cent to 70 per cent] are living in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, the ambassador said.
He said the Afghan community in the UAE is very vibrant and active. “As Afghanistan’s Ambassador to the UAE, I am proud of Afghan expats living in the UAE. Not only are they hardworking, they are also one of the least crime-prone expat communities in the UAE,” Zikria said.
Afghan business community has made big investments in the UAE in various businesses. In addition, hundreds of Afghan doctors, engineers and lawyers are working with various institutions in the UAE, he said.
Afghan merchants started to arrive in the Gulf countries in the 1950s and 60s. “Later Afghan workers joined them in the UAE and other Gulf countries. Afghans were involved in the establishment of many agricultural farms in the UAE,” the envoy said.
The UAE has supported many projects with high social and economic impact in Afghanistan, Zikria said.
The UAE is among the top 10 donor countries in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. It has supported Afghanistan with over 2 billion dirhams in various projects, he said.
“Clinics, hospitals, and a large university built by the UAE impacted the lives of the people significantly. In addition, the building of a housing complex with over 3,300 apartments, which mostly houses the low-income government employees, was a major support to the Afghan government,” he said.
In addition to the UAE government sectors, Afghanistan is expecting the UAE’s private sector to also invest in the country’s healthcare, energy and agricultural sectors. “We have already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the UAE-based BRS Ventures for the establishment of a pharmaceutical plant and operation/management of two government-owned hospitals,” Zikria said.
Afghanistan historically maintained a very close relationship with the Arab world and specifically with countries in the Gulf, he said.
The ambassador said both the UAE and Afghanistan share the same vision toward the region and the fight against terrorism. “We are expecting that both countries will establish better coordination in their counterterrorism activities. The UAE is also supporting the peace process in Afghanistan and playing a more active role in the establishment of peace in Afghanistan,” the envoy said.
BOX:
How to register for new Afghan ID cards
-Afghan residents have to visit the embassy in Abu Dhabi or the Consulate General in Dubai (on weekdays, from 8.30am to 4pm)
-Submit original passport and visa
-ID card will be issued immediately after registration
-Those who already have machine-readable passports have to also register for new ID cards
In numbers
120,000 Afghan expatriates in the UAE
1 more year to complete registration
155,000 Afghans in GCC except in Saudi Arabia
200,000 Afghans in Saudi Arabia
Box
Afghans committed to democracy: ambassador
Afghans are committed to the democratic system in their country, said Abdul Farid Zikria, the Afghan Ambassador to the UAE.
“The Afghan people with support from the international community managed to achieve hard-earned gains in many areas in the past 17 years. In the areas of governance, democracy, and development, tremendous achievements have been accomplished. The establishment of democratic institutions, including free media and civil societies are unique in the region,” the envoy said.
“We want to send a message to the world that we, as a nation, will overcome all challenges that we are facing today and that we will survive and strive for a better future,” Zikria said.
Unfortunately, he said, Afghanistan is once again at the forefront of the war against terrorism. The Afghan nation not only is defending itself against the menace of terrorism, but also paying a high price in stopping the spread of terrorism to other countries in the region and the world, he said.
The Afghan army and police are continuing to fight against regional and global terrorism and drug mafia, the ambassador said.
“The Afghan conflict is not a civil war among Afghans. It is an imposed war on Afghanistan. Almost twenty regional and transnational terrorist groups, some with outside support, are actively seeking to use Afghan soil for launching attacks against countries in the region and beyond,” he said.
Afghan forces are adamantly battling these evil threats. However, the Afghan government has also offered to negotiate a political settlement for peace. The Afghan government understands that peace is what the Afghan people desire and with the establishment of peace, a secure future and prosperity for both Afghanistan and region can be achieved, the envoy said.
