ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan have pledged to enhance bilateral trade and agreed to initiate two massive regional infrastructure projects, which would be an extension in China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
A Joint Economic Commission of the two countries agreed to launch an energy corridor to bring 2000 megawatt electricity from Turkmenistan to Pakistan through Afghanistan and start work on a road project connecting Herat-Khuzdar-Gwadar.
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, while addressing joint press conference along with his Afghan counterpart Eklil Ahmad Hakimi, said that both the sides reaffirmed the commitment to enhance the trade volume between the two countries to $5 billion by the end of 2017.
Current level of trade volume between two sides is around $2-2.5billion. Dar said that construction of Torkham-Jalalabad road, Rehman Baba School and Nishtar Kidney Centre are already on track.
“Apart from the economic and trade issues, the security issues would also remain on top of the agenda of Pakistan and Afghanistan. We both, Pakistan and Afghanistan are committed to bring peace in the region by eliminating terrorism,” the minister added.
He announced that the 5th meeting of the Afghan Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement would be held in Kabul in March next year. Similarly, the first meeting for Preferential Trade Agreement would also hold on the sideline of APTTA meeting. The meeting of joint business council would meet in the first quarter of the upcoming year, he added.
Speaking on the occasion, Afghan Finance Minister Eklil Ahmad Hakimi said both the countries have tried to work closely on solution of the common challenges they are facing. He said that officials of the both countries would hold monthly meeting through video call.
Both countries want to exploit the potential gains that would emerge from the Herat-Khuzdar-Gwadar Corridor and electricity project from Turkmenistan to Pakistan through Afghanistan, said the Afghan minister, who is visiting Pakistan along with a ministerial delegation for the 10th Session of Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Economic Commission.
