Pakistan delegation to arrive in Afghanistan today for trade talks

Islamabad [Pakistan], March 25 (ANI): Pakistan and Afghanistan are set to hold trade talks as a Pakistani commerce ministry delegation is scheduled to arrive in the Afghan capital Kabul today (Monday), to remove obstacles in transit and bilateral trade, reported Dawn.

Abdul Salam Jawad, spokesman for the Afghan Commerce Ministry, confirmed that Minister of Industry and Commerce Nooruddin Azizi will lead the Afghan delegation.

Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that the Pakistani delegation, headed by Secretary of Commerce Khurram Agha, will undertake the two-day visit.

"Pakistan remains committed to promoting trade and people-to-people ties with Afghanistan," Baloch said.

Other delegates from Pakistan included the Joint Secretary (Ministry of Commerce), Maria Qazi, Additional Secretary of Commerce Wajid Ali Khan, Director General Transit Trade and Additional Secretary of Interior Khushal Khan.

Reportedly, the discussions will be held on overall bilateral and transit trade, the Afghan Commerce Ministry’s spokesman said, according to Dawn.

"We will take up the issue of a ban on several transit items. Pakistan has banned the import of certain items under the transit agreement. Around 50 per cent of transit trade has been decreased due to this ban and shifted to Iran," Jawad said.

The meeting will be held as both sides continue to put effort into normalising relations following Pakistani airstrikes in two Afghan provinces on March 18.

Afghan charge d’affaires Sardar Shokaib Ahmad rushed to Kabul to brief officials about his meetings in Islamabad, as reported by Dawn.

Shokaib met acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi and briefed him regarding recent developments in the relations between both countries, deputy foreign ministry spokesman Hafiz Zia Ahmad Takkal said.

"During the meeting, Mawlawi Sardar Ahmed Shakib, acting head of the Afghan embassy in Pakistan, shared the report of his recent meetings with the Pakistani officials with FM Muttaqi, and held in-depth discussion thereof," Takkal posted on X.

"Following briefing, FM Muttaqi gave necessary instructions to the Acting Head of the Afghan embassy in Islamabad with regards to the existing situation and relations of the two countries," he added.

Earlier, the Afghan embassy said that Shakib met Pakistan’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan, Asif Durrani, on March 22 and "addressed recent challenges between the two countries, the revitalization of political, commercial, people-to-people and other aspects of bilateral relations."On March 11, Afghan Minister of Industry and Commerce Nooruddin Azizi held an online meeting with Secretary Pakistan Commerce Ministry Khurram Agha and discussed ways to establish closer relations, solve challenges and prevent the occurrence of bottlenecks in trade and transit between the two countries, the ministry wrote on social media X.

The Afghan Commerce Ministry highlighted that the two sides spoke about the progress made over the last two years.

They also discussed options to increase the volume of bilateral trade, solve problems and remove trade and transit barriers, provide more facilities, establish close relations between the public and private sectors of the two countries, and increase regional cooperation.

Moreover, the Afghan minister also invited Khurram Agha to visit Kabul with a delegation to hold further discussions on bilateral trade issues.

Reportedly, Pakistani and Afghan business leaders are expecting that the talks in Kabul will be useful, according to Dawn.

Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI) Khan Jan Alkozai said that the new government in Pakistan will address the concerns of Afghan importers.

Alkozai also noted a 10 per cent hike in import duty on Afghan transit trade introduced in October last year, further complaining about adding more transit items to the negative list.

"More problems for Afghan importers were created during the caretaker government in Pakistan. Pakistan and the Islamic Emirate should pave the way to normalise bilateral and transit trade," Alkozai said.

He added that transit via Pakistan has substantially decreased and Afghan importers have moved their businesses to ports in Iran, as reported by Dawn.

Pakistani traders have also urged officials to facilitate transit and bilateral trade with Afghanistan, as it is a win-win situation for both.

Pakistani and Afghan traders have long been insisting on separating trade from political issues, however, no attention has ever been paid to their demand. (ANI)