Pakistani delegation begins two-day Kabul visit to discuss bilateral trade

KARACHI: A Pakistani delegation embarked on a two-day visit to Kabul on Monday to discuss issues pertaining to bilateral trade with Afghan authorities, confirmed officials of the commerce ministry in Islamabad.

The talks between the two neighbors have been arranged at a time when their trade is at the lowest ebb, following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August last year.
Led by the commerce secretary, Sualeh Ahmad Faruqui, the Pakistani delegation includes senior officials from the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR), National Logistic Cell (NLC), Ministry of Interior and Power Division.
“Bilateral cooperation in the areas of trade, transit, transport facilitation and border facilitation will be discussed during the meetings between Pakistani and Afghan officials in Kabul,” said the commerce ministry statement issued on Sunday.
“Issues being faced by traders in bilateral and transit trade between the two countries will also be discussed during the talks,” it added. “The meeting is a continuation of an ongoing process of bilateral engagements between Pakistan and Afghanistan in the fields of trade, transit, connectivity and economic cooperation.”
The Pakistani delegation is also expected to discuss the issue of recent coal price hikes made by the Taliban government in Kabul.
Last month, Afghanistan increased coal prices from $90 per ton to $280 per ton.
The Pakistani business community hopes the visit of commerce ministry officials to Kabul will improve the issues currently obstructing the bilateral trade flow between the two countries.
“It would have been much better if they had also included members of the business community in the delegation, but I am happy that they are going to Kabul and hope that the issues between both the countries would be resolved including those of visa clearance, tariff determination, and transit,” Muhammad Zubair Motiwala, chairman of the Pakistan Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce & Industry (PAJCCI), said while talking to Arab News.
He maintained the two countries should dissociate business and security to ensure trade enhancement.
“We want the two sides to separate security and trade issues,” he continued. “I always say it is business that should lead a relationship, not the other way around. Business helps improve relations among countries.”
Motiwala informed that a delegation of Afghanistan’s business community was also scheduled to arrive in Pakistan in August which would visit the Karachi port.
Earlier this month, a meeting of Afghan and Pakistani stakeholders was held at the Chaman border crossing wherein the two sides discussed issues related to bilateral trade, including multiple security checks despite the use of scanners by various government entities.
The Afghan side informed that Kabul was keen to expand trade ties with Pakistan by getting into joint ventures, exchanging business delegations and managing a joint banking system and transport company to boost bilateral and transit trade.