Industry and commerce minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) on Monday called on Beijing to speed up its efforts for reopening of the Silk Road trade route.

Minister Nooruddin Azizi said that the Wakhan Corridor or the Silk Road can increase the level of trade between the two countries and become a reliable route for the transit of goods.

“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) has announced its preparations for the opening of this corridor and asks the respsected authorities of the People’s Republic of China to speed up the process of opening this route,” Azizi said.

The Belt and Road Initiative is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in nearly 150 countries and international organizations. It seeks to rekindle ancient Silk Road trade routes linking China with Europe and Africa

In September, Afghan Minister of Industry and Commerce said that Afghanistan should be included in the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) infrastructure project, which is a central part of the Belt and Road Initiative.

“In talks we had with China, it was mentioned that we should partner with China in the Belt and Road Initiative and China-Pakistan-Economic Corridor and other programs that China has at the international level,” Nooruddin Azizi said in an interview with China’s CGTN.

The first shipment of Afghanistan-made biscuits, a product of a private factory in Balkh province, was exported to Kazakhstan on Monday through the port of Haritan on the Uzbekistan border.

Head of the Allah Shakur biscuit company, Allah Shakur Qanaat Bakhsh, said: “The first export shipment consists of four types of biscuits.”

He said the company is also hoping to export its products to other countries.

The company, which is located in the Mazar-e-Sharif industrial park, has the ability to produce a few tons of biscuits every day.

According to factory officials six hundred workers are currently employed at the factory and work in two shifts.

This comes after the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MoIC) said on Sunday that an Air Corridor Agreement between India and Afghanistan has been signed and that Afghanistan’s goods will soon be exported to India by air.

Abdul Salam Jawad, a spokesperson for the MoIC, said that the export of Afghanistan’s commercial commodities to India continues through Wagah port and that in the past year, the country has exported more than 14 billion afghanis via the port.

According to him, cargo flights between Afghanistan and India will start in the near future, and fresh and dry fruits, handicrafts and other commercial items will be exported to India by air.

Economic experts meanwhile say the export of goods by air will have a huge impact on the Afghan economy.

In line with the Islamic Emirate’s efforts to expand trade and economic relations with countries in the region, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MoIC) says the Air Corridor Agreement between India and Afghanistan has been signed and that Afghanistan’s goods will soon be exported to India by air.

Abdul Salam Jawad, a spokesperson for the MoIC, said that the export of Afghanistan’s commercial commodities to India continues through Wagah port and that in the past year, the country has exported more than 14 billion afghanis via the port.

“Our trade with India continues normally through Wagah port; in the past year, we exported more than fourteen billion afghanis, the total weight of which amounted to 30,000 tons,” said Jawad.

According to him, cargo flights between Afghanistan and India will start in the near future, and fresh and dry fruits, handicrafts and other commercial items will be exported to India by air.

Economic experts meanwhile say the export of goods by air will have a huge impact on the Afghan economy.

“I think that it has a great impact on Afghanistan’s economy, prosperity, income and political beliefs,” said Sayed Massoud, an economic analyst.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI), in cooperation with MoIC, started Saturday the process of exporting dried fruit and saffron worth $2 million from Afghanistan to Europe, Australia and Canada.