Officials from Afghanistan’s Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MoLSAMD) on Thursday said government has listed job creation among its priorities and that within the next three years, government will create 2.1 million jobs.  

At least 24 percent of qualified Afghans are job seekers across the country, the labor minister Faizullah Zaki said on Sunday - at the start of the National Labor Conference in Kabul.

He also stressed the need to create an effective solution to overcoming unemployment in Afghanistan. 

With the implementation of commitments made at the national labor conference, the government will be able to create 2.1 million jobs in Afghanistan in the next three years, Zaki said on Thursday. 

Meanwhile, officials from Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) have asked the Afghan government to outline more inclusive policies for the private sector so they can play a role in the employment sector. 

“Recommendations were made to promote easy access to land, access to electricity and loans in order to resolve the issues of the private sector,” said Atiqullah Nusrat, chairman of the ACCI.

They said if government cooperates with the private sector, the private sector maintains the potential to play a more effective role in the entrepreneurship sector and can create more jobs.  

According to Zaki, the labor conference in Kabul helped to forge a good understanding of the job situation and that it will also help relevant institutions to come up with more working policies regarding job creation and poverty alleviation in Afghanistan. 

“A year ago the issue of employment was not on the agenda of any institution, but today it is placed on the national agenda. I think this was the most important result of the conference to address it from a national perspective,” said Zaki Thursday. 

“In the year 1393 (2014) the ratio of unemployment was around 39.1 percent and now this ratio is around 39.5 percent, there is 0.4 percent difference,” said Haseebullah Mawhid, technical deputy head of Central Statistics Organization. 

“Millions of people are either unemployed totally or under-employed and they need support. It is the responsibility of the government and private sector in the country to create employment opportunities for the women and men of Afghanistan,” said Manzoor Khaliq, Senior Coordinator of ILO in Afghanistan. 

According to the labor ministry, plans for a better environment will be provided for private sector investment and capacity building of a local workforce will be implemented shortly after the conclusion of the conference.

Three years ago, the National Unity Government (NUG), under president Ashraf Ghani and CEO Abdullah Abdullah, pledged to create one million jobs in the country. Something which did not happen. But now the NUG says that it will create 2.1 million jobs.