Private Sector and Stabilisation in Afghanistan - A Neglected Match?

CBDS conference

Wednesday, October 24, 2012 - 09:00 to 16:00

The Centre for Business and Development Studies, CBS, is grateful to CBS BiS Public-Private Platform; Center for Military Studies, University of Copenhagen; Institute for Strategy, Royal Danish Defence College, for having received grants that finances this conference.

The aim of this conference is to explore whether the private sector (PS) can contribute to stabilisation of conflict/post-conflict zones such as Afghanistan. Scholars as well as practitioners have been invited to discuss the question, in order to identify where promising perspectives or manifest challenges may be found – in the analytical as well as in the practical field. While part of our findings may be specific for Afghanistan, it will also be discussed to which extent the question about PS as a stabilisation tool may be relevant to consider in other geographical areas.

See the conference summary here.

Conference program

A detailed program will be available soon at the CBS website

9.00-12.00 Morning session:

Introduction by CBS

Academic keynote speakers:

  • Dr. Mikkel Vedby Rasmussen: Introduction: the intervention in Afghanistan

  • Dr. Stuart Gordon: Stabilization and private sector development in the new UK Helmand-plan.

  • President of the Afghan Chamber of Commerce – (teleconference).  The Afghan Business Environment.

  • Dr. Jonathan Goodhand: Challenges of Private Sector Development in the context of a war economy

  • Dr. Saeed Parto: Entrepreneurial Activity among Afghans

  • Project leader Ph.D. Tina Magaard: Non-Western investors and stabilisation

  • Project coordinator Ph.D. fellow Sameer Azizi: CSR in Afghanistan

12.00 – 13.00 Lunch

13.00-15.00 Afternoon session: Parallel workshops, with the presence of the speakers

  • PSD and Stabilisation from an ISAF-perspective. With Stuart Gordon and Mikkel Vedby Rasmussen.

  • Challenges of Private Sector Development in the context of a war economy. With Jonathan Goodhand and Sameer Azizi

  • Entrepreneurial activity and micro-credit With Saeed Parto and Søren Jeppesen

  • Non-Western investors and stabilisation. With Tina Magaard and Ole Kværnø.

15.00-16.00 Panel debate. Searching for a way ahead

The page was last edited by: Communications // 04/12/2013