Business
Three Afghan-Pakistan borders set to reopen for trade
Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed to reopen three key border crossings for trade traffic between the two countries from Monday.
According to Pakistan media, the border crossings are Torkham, Chaman, and Ghulam Khan, which have mostly been closed since March as part of broad-based lockdown measures by both countries amid the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.
Dawn news reported on Saturday that a notification issued late Friday night by the Pakistan Ministry of Interior stated: “I am directed to refer to this ministry’s letter of even no dated May 1, 2020, on the subject cited above and to convey that competent authority has approved management of Afghan transit/bilateral trade and pedestrian movement along Pak-Afghan border with effect from June 22.”
The notification stated the planned opening would be for import and export traffic and an “unlimited number of trucks will be allowed per day for both Afghan transit and bilateral trade: while ensuring all COVID-19-related standard operating procedures and protocols” are followed.
According to the report, trade traffic will be allowed to transit six days a week, except Saturday. On that day the borders will be open for pedestrian traffic.
“Saturday will be reserved for pedestrian movement only at Torkham, Chaman and Ghulam Khan border terminals”, the notification read.
Afghanistan’s Ambassador to Pakistan Atif Mashal, who confirmed to Xinhua news that the crossings would reopen for trade, said this means Afghan traders will be able to resume the export of their fresh produce.
“It is the peak time for Afghan exports of fresh fruits and vegetables as both are now ready for export,” Mashal said.
In addition, a Pakistani official in North Waziristan, told Xinhua, that officials of the two countries had agreed on procedures and regulations for the cross-border trade in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Officials reportedly agreed that truck drivers and all involved in the cross-border trade will follow strict standard operating procedures to contain the spread of the virus and that drivers will undergo tests at the quarantine centers established on both sides of the border.
This move comes just days after Afghan traders raised their concerns over the continued trade restrictions which they said had caused them huge losses.
Earlier this week, the Afghan Traders’ Union chairman, Omaid Haidari, told Anadolu Agency that the border closures had cost Afghan traders more than US$100 million.
He also stated that while Afghan traders had been barred from entering Pakistan amid the Coronavirus outbreak, Pakistan continued to export goods to Afghanistan.
Haidari said that hundreds of trucks loaded with fresh fruits and vegetables destined for Pakistan and India had been stranded for months at the main Chaman and Torkham border crossings.
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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