Ashraf Ghani Quotes

Simple projects such as paving roads, can do more to boost a poor economy than a premature push to develop cutting-edge technologies, but soon the benefits of basic infrastructure run their course.

My central objective is, turn Afghanistan's location into a greater asset. Central Asia is becoming Afghanistan's major trading partner. The vision of connectivity is really important.

Infrastructure is the backbone of economic growth. It improves access to basic services such as clean water and electricity, creates jobs and boosts business.

I want us to invest in your future. That means jobs in infrastructure, in advanced manufacturing, innovation and technology, clean, renewable energy, and small business, because most of the new jobs will come from small business.

Today, being the biggest developing countries in the world, China and India are both committed to developing their economy and raising their people's living standards.

Besides infrastructure, there is a huge opportunity in housing and urbanisation of cities - not only building new ones, but also renewing the infrastructure of old cities to make them more livable. This provides tremendous scope for large investments to fuel growth.

I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country's economic growth, environmental protection, improvements in our educational system.

The demand for electricity to have a strong, growing economy is too great to be simply offset by more conservation.

We need to stop thinking about infrastructure as an economic stimulant and start thinking about it as a strategy. Economic stimulants produce Bridges to Nowhere. Strategic investment in infrastructure produces a foundation for long-term growth.

Every day I get to 'Think' and work on everything from digitizing electric grids so they can accommodate renewable energy and enable mass adoption of electric cars, helping major cities reduce congestion and pollution, to developing new micro-finance programs that help tiny businesses get started in markets such as Brazil, India, Africa.

If for no other reason than the energy crisis now facing this country, the federal government should be eager to become partners with us in rebuilding our city.

Canada's north is going to change a lot in the new few years. We have every resource imaginable up north.

Turkey is a model of economic and social development, especially in terms of human resources and regional cooperation.

The mobile industry changed Africa.

The American economy has always been the innovator in the world, and we're starting to see some tremendous increases in innovation, especially in the clean energy sector.

To those who say Britain cannot afford to invest in infrastructure, I say we cannot afford not to invest in our future.

In the urban areas, we have focused on infrastructure roads, telecommunications, power.

For countries such as Kenya to emerge as economic powerhouses, they need better infrastructure: roads, ports, smart grids and power plants. Infrastructure is expensive, and takes a long time to build. In the meantime, hackers are building 'grassroots infrastructure,' using the mobile-phone system to build solutions that are ready for market.

The close relationship between railroad expansion and the genera development and prosperity of the country is nowhere brought more distinctly into relief than in connection with the construction of the Pacific railroads.

In Africa today, we recognise that trade and investment, and not aid, are pillars of development.

At the same time, we are keenly aware that China is still the largest developing country in the world and we need to make long and hard efforts if we are to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects and basically achieve modernization.

No nation owes more to the steel wheel on the steel rail though it is not always clear whether railways were built to unite Canada, or Canada was created to justify the rail building.

My final aim is to bring Iran, within twenty years, to the same level of civilization and progress as will be enjoyed by the most highly developed countries. During the last ten years the degree of our backwardness has been halved, but it is this remaining backwardness which will be the most difficult to combat.

I am not unaware of the great importance of roads and canals and the improved navigation of water courses, and that a power in the National Legislature to provide them might be exercised with signal advantage to the general prosperity.

We need a comprehensive focus on infrastructure that supports not just transportation but also broadband, education, healthcare, and our environment.