Afghanistan-Pakistan trade barriers removed: Afghan ministry

KABUL: The Afghan Ministry of Industry and Commerce on Wednesday said that “all barriers” in the way of trade relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have been settled down over the past few weeks.

Afghan officials have expressed the hope that with the removal of the obstructions, Afghanistan’s exports to Pakistan will double next year.

“The Ministry of Industry and Commerce under the leadership of Minister Nisar Ahmad Ghoryani is making all its efforts to remove all barriers in the way of the private sector in trade and commerce with Pakistan,” said Fawad Ahmadi, a spokesman for the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. “21 issues that were raised by the private sector about trade with Pakistan have been removed,” he said.

Officials of the ministry said that an Afghan delegation will soon visit Pakistan where they will discuss further enhancement of trade ties with the neighboring country. Naqibullah Safai, the head of Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industries said that trade delegations from the two countries in their recent meetings have agreed to resolve all their bilateral economic issues and enhance their joint efforts to further develop economic ties between the two countries.

The volume of trade between Afghanistan and Pakistan has slumped to less than $1 billion from $3 billion in the past. Officials in Kabul however raised hope that Afghanistan’s exports to Pakistan will increase by $400 million next year.