Business
Afghanistan and Pakistan agree to enhance bilateral trade ties
Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to enhance bilateral trade relations and the two countries will start cross-border passenger bus services next month.
The Pakistani embassy in Kabul said Wednesday that the two countries have also decided to facilitate issuance of visas, make border crossing points more efficient to ensure early clearance of trade and transit traffic, and address the bottlenecks and impediments on priority basis.
The embassy said that all possible efforts are being made to start a passenger bus service between Peshawar and Jalalabad, and Quetta and Kandahar by the end of next month.
“It was agreed that at the end of August 2022, passenger bus services will be started as a test, initially using two modern and well-equipped buses from both sides. After 15 days, it will increase to 5 buses from each side. After a month, both sides will comprehensively examine the bus services to determine how many buses are needed from each side,” said the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
The two countries agreed to implement a Temporary Admission Document (TAD), allowing free movement of bilateral trade vehicles and preventing loading and unloading of goods at the border crossing points, besides increasing operational timings at all crossing points, particularly Torkham, Kharlachi (Kurram tribal district), Ghulam Khan (North Waziristan) and Chaman/Spin Boldak.
The embassy further said that during the current financial year, bilateral trade and transit has registered growth, adding that this momentum needs to be sustained and further strengthened on a mutually beneficial basis.
The volume of total trade between the two countries in 2021-22 was $1.55 billion. Afghan exports were $834 million, while Pakistan’s exports stood at around $750 million, the Friday times reported.
According to Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), during the negotiations, the Pakistani side assured that there is no restriction on the export of Afghan goods from all ports, including the route of Wagah port to India and other countries.
“It was agreed that a tripartite meeting between Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan on regional connectivity will be held at the appropriate time,” said Zaibullah Mujahid, in a statement to the media.
Nooruddin Azizi, Acting Minister of Commerce and Industry, met with representatives from the ministries of foreign affairs, defense and interior of Malaysia, along with other senior officials, on Wednesday and called on Malaysians to invest in Afghanistan.
The visiting delegation is being led by senior diplomat Dr. Shazelina Zainul Abidin.
According to the IEA’s foreign ministry, the two sides discussed bilateral trade, holding a business communication conference to strengthen trade relations between the two countries, the trade balance between Afghanistan and Malaysia, and creating a market for Afghan products, including carpets, cotton, and minerals.
According to the ministry, at the end of the meeting, the Acting Minister emphasized the increase of investment from regional countries in Afghanistan and called on Malaysian investors to also invest in Afghanistan.
The Ministry of Interior says that Afghanistan has started exporting goods to Turkey via the Herat-Khaf railway line.
In a post on X, the ministry said: “Afghanistan’s exports to Turkey started in a calm atmosphere through the Herat-Khaf railway line.”
The ministry added that one train will run daily for a month and then two trains will run daily.
According to the ministry, the security of Khaf-Herat railway line is provided by the guards of the National Public Protection Agency.
Khaf-Herat railway project not only connects Iran and Afghanistan by rail, but also completes a 2,000-kilometer route along the east-west rail corridor from China, through Uzbekistan, to Afghanistan, to Iran, and on to Turkey and Europe.
As a landlocked country, this railway network will provide a safe route to connect with Europe via Iran’s railway network and Iran’s southern ports.
This railway line is strategic for trade between Iran and Afghanistan and will allow six million tons of goods to be sent between the two countries.
A joint expo between Afghanistan and Kazakhstan will be held in Kabul in the next four days, officials said on Sunday.
Officials of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce said that the two-day expo will be held for the purpose of expanding and strengthening trade relations between the two countries.
“This expo will be held as a follow-up of the Kazakh-Afghan international expo, which was held in the city of Astana, Kazakhstan, with the participation of a large delegation of the government and the private sector of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” Abdulsalam Javad Akhundzadeh, the spokesman of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, said.
“At this expo, domestic products from different sectors of Afghanistan and the Republic of Kazakhstan will be put on display for two days.”
According to officials, 40 large Kazakh companies, and 40 large Afghan companies will exhibit their products.
Mohammad Saber Latifi, head of the Afghanistan International Expo Center, said that fruits, minerals and commercial services will be displayed at the expo.
During the expo, various memorandums of understanding for the trade of goods are also expected to be signed by companies.
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