KABUL: Pakistan’s Ambassador to Afghanistan Syed Abrar Hussain and Afghan Deputy Minister for Trade Mozammil Shinwari have agreed that practical measures shall be taken to enhance the bilateral trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan to $5 billion in the near future.
Shinwari was leading a delegation of Pak-Afghan Joint Chambers of Commerce and Industries (PAJCCI) and senior government officials which met the Pakistani diplomat in Kabul. Currently Pakistan-Afghanistan annual trade volume stands at $2.4 billion.
Both sides discussed the prospects of expanding the bilateral trade and the problems facing the traders’ community of the two countries. The ambassador informed the delegation that the government of Pakistan wanted to encourage and improve regional trade, particularly with its neighbouring countries that was vital for the economic development of the region.
“In order to improve regional connectivity and trade with the neighbouring countries, Pakistan would like to construct a motorway and railway lines from Peshawar to Jalalabad and Chaman to Spin Boldak, which would play an instrumental role in the economic development of the region,” the ambassador told the delegation.
Similarly, he said, Pakistan also wanted to extend the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement to Tajikistan, which was highly beneficial for the economic prosperity of the three countries. He asked the traders’ community to invest in Pakistan because it provided investment-friendly environment to foreign investors. He also assured the delegation to facilitate the Afghan traders by addressing their problems relating to customs’ clearance and others.
The meeting also discussed the forthcoming 5th meeting of Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Coordination Authority to be held in Islamabad and hoped that it would help address the traders’ problems as well as enhance the bilateral trade.
The delegation comprised PAJCCI President Khan Jan Alokozay, PAJCCI Vice-President Younas Mohmand, PAJCCI Legal Advisor Dawood Moosa, PAJCCI Director Nizamuddin Tajzada, Director General of Afghan Customs Dr Najeebullah Wardak and CEO of Afghanistan Investment Support Agency, Wafiullah Iftekhar.
