Business
Afghan minister calls for new Khaf-Herat railway line to link with Chabahar
Afghan Minister for Commerce and Industry Nisar Ahmad Faizi Ghoryani on Wednesday said the Khaf-Herat railway project was a great achievement for the people of Afghanistan and said he hoped this railway line would eventually be connected to the Chabahar-Zahedan rail network,
Speaking to Iran’s IRNA agency on the sidelines of the 8th round of Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) meeting in Islamabad, also noted that Afghanistan’s banking-related challenges around trade and transit from Iran’s Chabahar port had been resolved.
He told IRNA that problems in receiving money related to the exports of Afghanistan to China and India through the port of Chabahar, had caused a slowdown in transit activities.
Ghoryani said: “Afghanistan raised the banking issue in the port of Chabahar with the American parties.”
“The port of Chabahar is excluded from Washington’s sanctions list, which is why the banking issue has been raised with the United States several times, and we have managed to get a 100 percent promise to lift it,” he said.
“The banking problem in Chabahar will be solved in the next few days and there will be no more obstacles or reasons for sabotaging Afghanistan’s transit trade through this important Iranian port.”
Ghoryani also told IRNA that Chabahar was a strategic port and an easy route to ensure the interests of Afghanistan and the region and said “we hope the Khaf railway will be connected to the Chabahar-Zahedan railway project.”
He also again lauded Iran for the new Khaf-Herat railway line and said: “Khaf railway is a great project that connects Afghanistan to Europe through the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
He also invited Iranian investors to participate in Afghan industries.
“Afghanistan imports stand at $7 billion a year, and we can work harder with Iranian investors to meet the needs of industry inside Afghanistan,” Ghoryani said.
Nooruddin Azizi, Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce, met with Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk to discuss trade and investment, it was announced on Friday.
Sergey Pavlov, General Director of Russian Railways, and Dmitry Zverev, Deputy Minister of Transport of Russia, were also present in the meeting, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce said in a statement.
According to the statement, the two sides discussed increasing the volume of trade, preferential tariff for Afghan goods, Russian investment in mines and water dams in Afghanistan, and Afghanistan’s role in the International North–South Transport Corridor.
They also discussed about reducing the cost of transportation through the Russian railway, removing the export tax on basic materials, arranging the trip of the delegation to the ports of Astrakhan and Makhachkala, and holding a trade connectivity conference and an expo of Afghan products in Moscow.
Azizi met with the Russian deputy PM on the sidelines of the Kazan Forum – the 15th International Economic Forum of Russia and the Islamic World.
He also met with representatives of a number of Tatarstan and Russia companies and encouraged them to invest in Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry said Thursday acting minister Nooruddin Azizi met with the leader of Russia’s autonomous republic of Tatarstan, Rustam Nurgaliyevich Minnikhanov, on the sidelines of a meeting in Kazan.
According to the ministry, Azizi met with Minnikhanov on the sidelines of the Kazan Forum – the 15th International Economic Forum of Russia and the Islamic World.
The two officials discussed bilateral trade relations, the establishment of the Russian Trade House in Afghanistan, the visit of Minnikhanov to Kabul, investment in electricity production, water transfer, mining, cultural and economic cooperation and other matters.
This annual meeting is held by Russia and the 14th round of this meeting was also held in the same country last year.
The main goal of the forum is to strengthen trade and economic, scientific and technical, social and cultural ties between Russian regions and the countries of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), as well as to promote the development of the Islamic financial system institutions in Russia.
The National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA) said on Wednesday that last year, the value of exports totaled $1.79 billion while imports totaled $8.57 billion.
According to NSIA, fruits accounted for the largest share of export items last year, totaling over $645 million.
Medicinal plants, minerals and vegetables were the next top three items respectively to be exported.
Meanwhile, petroleum and oil accounted for the largest portion of imported goods, totaling over $1.37 billion.
Another large portion of the total amount imported went to machinery, vehicles and parts. This totaled over $1.15 billion, followed by textiles, metals and metal products.
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