Pakistani officials have announced that consultations are underway with stakeholders on preferential trade agreements with Afghanistan and Azerbaijan.

According to Dawn newspaper, the issue was announced on Friday in a meeting on trade chaired by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.

In the meeting, the strict monitoring of Afghan Transit Trade was also emphasized.

Pakistani officials have not provided further details on preferential trade with Afghanistan and Azerbaijan.

Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce Nooruddin Azizi has said that talks with neighboring countries have started for the export of fresh fruit this year.

Azizi added that the Ministry of Industry and Commerce wants the country’s fresh fruit to be exported to Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Iran in addition to Pakistan.

Members of the private sector call on the Ministry of Industry and Commerce to step up efforts to find new markets for Afghan exporters.

“We ask the authorities to determine the export routes before the harvesting season. We should find new markets instead of Pakistan. There is capacity for Afghanistan’s exports in the region, and action should be taken in this regard,” said Mirwais Hajizada, the deputy of Chamber of Agriculture and Livestock.

Economic experts say that the Ministry of Industry and Commerce should hold talks with Iran and Uzbekistan in addition to Pakistan for Afghanistan’s exports.

“There are many opportunities to sell our products in markets other than Pakistan. I hope the authorities will think about this. Grounds should be paved to access the markets of South Asia and the Gulf countries through Iran, and the markets of Central Asia through Uzbekistan,” said Mohammad Nabi Afghan, an economic expert.

Members of the private sector say that although Pakistan is the closest and largest market for Afghanistan’s dry and fresh fruits, doing business with it has always been challenging.

Pakistan and Uzbekistan on Wednesday reaffirmed their commitment to early implementation of the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan Railways project which will boost trade within the region.

In a statement issued by Pakistan’s foreign office after a meeting in Islamabad between visiting Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov and Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar, the project “would give boost to bilateral and regional trade and become a bridge between South and Central Asia.”

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also met with Saidov and emphasized the importance of the railway project and Pakistan’s commitment to its early completion.

Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan had in February 2021 agreed to build a railway line across Afghanistan to connect Central Asia with Pakistani ports at an estimated cost of $4.8bn.

The railway project, spanning 760 kms, is scheduled for completion by the end of 2027, with the capability to transport up to 15 million tonnes of goods annually by 2030.

This rail link will notably decrease cargo delivery time between Uzbekistan and Pakistan by around five days, while also slashing transportation costs by at least 40 percent.