Business
Pakistan’s commerce delegation wraps up ‘successful’ trip to Kabul
Pakistan’s Charge d’Affaires for Afghanistan, Ubaid-ur-Rehman Nizamani said in a video message on Wednesday that the recent talks between Islamabad’s commerce delegation and Afghan officials had been “successful” and that he hoped this would give fresh impetus to bilateral trade between the two countries.
“I’m happy to report that this was a successful visit and both sides have agreed to work together for mutual benefit on a number of areas.
“They will facilitate transit, they will facilitate bilateral trade and they will take all possible measures that create an environment for continuous and productive trade and economic relations between the two countries,” he said.
The delegation, led by Commerce Ministry Secretary Khurram Agha, arrived in Kabul on Monday and had numerous talks on various issues with Islamic Emirate officials.
The visit came amid deteriorating bilateral relations following several suicide attacks in Pakistan in the last couple of months that Islamabad attributes to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants, a group they claim is based in Afghanistan.
Diplomatic tensions between the two countries over the last few months have led to economic losses, as key border crossings for trade and travel have closed intermittently, resulting in goods trucks being held up at border posts.
Afghanistan’s Minister for Industry and Commerce Nurudin Azizi meanwhile said the IEA had held fruitful negotiations in a cordial environment with the visiting delegation.
“We discussed in detail with the Pakistani side specific issues related to heavy transport vehicles that will be resolved,” he said.
“We will achieve positive results as our discussions remained productive.”
Azizi said Afghanistan expected to sign a formal agreement with Pakistan within six months, allowing Pakistani trucks to enter Afghanistan and travel to the Central Asian states and Afghan trucks to go all the way to the Pakistani port cities of Karachi and Gwadar.
Apart from discussing trade-related issues, the two sides also focused on movement of passengers, patients and businesspeople across their common border during these talks.
Azizi noted uninterrupted trade and business between Kabul and Islamabad would play a significant role in creating a peaceful environment between the two countries and facilitate their economic development.
He said the two sides also pledged to enhance their existing trade volume, adding that both countries could become ideal markets for each other if they did not allow business to be affected by any geopolitical tensions.
Azizi also said Afghanistan could export agricultural products to China and other countries via Pakistan’s ports and cities.
The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum says that the head of the ministry has met with a number of visiting businessmen and representatives of oil and gas processing companies from the Republic of Tatarstan.
The ministry said at the recent meeting, the visiting businessmen outlined their experience and work in the field of oil and gas extraction and processing.
In a post on X, the ministry quoted the Tatarstan group as having acknowledged an “orderly system” in Afghanistan with complete security and favorable grounds to invest.
The visitors said at the meeting their companies are considering the possibility of investing in the survey, exploration and extraction processes of oil and gas in the country, as well as the refinement stage.
Shahabuddin Delawer, Acting Minister of Mines and Petroleum, welcomed the group’s enthusiasm and said “fortunately, Afghanistan has rich oil and gas resources in various areas,” adding that currently agreements are being drawn up regarding Herat’s oil and gas blocks – something which Tatarstan businessmen could invest in.
Delaware said that the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum is ready to cooperate in accordance with the relevant laws in order to facilitate investment.
Tatarstan, officially the Republic of Tatarstan, is a republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe.
Afghanistan and Turkmenistan companies have signed more than 10 contracts and two memorandums of understanding on construction materials, including iron bars, paint, marble and food materials.
The contracts were signed during the trip of a Turkmen business delegation to Herat province and in the presence of Nooruddin Azizi, Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce.
“There is excellent opportunity for the expansion of trade and economic relations between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan, which both sides should take full advantage of,” Azizi said at the signing ceremony of these contracts, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce on Tuesday.
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce pointed out that the contracts were inked as a follow-up to visit of the acting minister to Turkmenistan and meeting with its national leader Gurbanguly Berdi Mohammadov.
Earlier, the delegation from Turkmenistan’s private sector said that their goal is to expand economic relations between the private sectors of the two countries. They said they are hoping to buy hundreds of tons of construction materials from Afghan industrialists every year.
Union of Turkmen industrialists is interested in a contract with Herat industrialists in the field of construction materials. The economic delegation of Turkmenistan, which has been in Herat for the past three days, has visited various plants including marble and iron and also paint manufacturers.
The delegation, which is from Turkmenistan’s private sector, says that their goal is to expand economic relations between the private sectors of the two countries.
They said they are hoping to buy hundreds of tons of construction materials from Afghan industrialists every year.
Contracts for the sale of marble, paint and iron bars between the two countries are expected to be signed soon.
“During this trip that we were in Herat and the products that we saw in the factories and especially the works that were handicrafts in the field of marble and onyx, these are really amazing, naturally, in the world of industries handicraft is said to be one of the most expensive and popular products, so we were surprised by the products we saw here,” said a member of the delegation from Turkmenistan.
Herat Chamber of Industries and Mines says that there is now the capacity in Herat Industrial City to produce enough goods in various sectors to export abroad. At present, there are about 40 companies operating in the marble processing sector.
An agreement with the Turkmenistan union for construction materials could be a valuable step for Herat business owners.
Some factory owners also believe that the production of construction materials has improved in recent years, and that the capacities in the production and processing of marble and iron bars have also increased.
Herat Chamber of Industries and Mines says that currently more than 800 factories are active in the industrial town of this province.
Tatarstan businessmen keen to invest in Afghanistan’s oil and gas sector
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