Islamabad: Pakistan and Afghanistan have decided to launch a luxury bus service between Peshawar and Jalalabad and Quetta and Kandahar by the end of August this year, officials said.
The two countries have also agreed to increase bilateral trade by allowing free movement of trucks and other goods carrying vehicles during the visit of Pakistan’s official delegation to Kabul. The delegation held meetings with the acting Afghan ministers for commerce and foreign affairs along with other senior officials.
Both sides agreed to continue efforts to address barriers through mutual cooperation and coordination, according to the joint statement issued at the end of three-day talks ( July 18-20) between Pakistan and Afghan officials.
Commerce Secretary Muhammad Sualeh Ahmad Faruqui led the Pakistani delegation which included senior officials of different ministries and businessmen. Afghan minister for trade and industry Nooruddin Azizi and acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi led his country’s delegation.
Improve border crossing efficiency
The official also agreed to make border crossing points more efficient to ensure early clearance of trade and transit traffic and address the bottlenecks and impediments on a priority basis. The two sides approved the implementation of the Temporary Admission Document (TAD) allowing free movement of bilateral trade vehicles and preventing the loading and unloading of goods at the border crossing points in a bid to further increase trade between the two countries. The authorities also agreed to increase operational timings at all crossing points, particularly Torkham, Kharlachi, Ghulam Khan and Chaman-Spin Boldak.
Bilateral trade
Bilateral trade remained the focus of the bilateral talks. Both sides focused on improving bilateral trade, transit, and accessibility as well as taking necessary steps to facilitate trade and resolve problems being faced by Pakistani and Afghan importers, exporters, traders and entrepreneurs.
At the same time, the Afghan business community delegation led by the co-chairman Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJJCCI) Khan Jan Alokozai arrived in Pakistan on Thursday to participate in a roundtable of stakeholders of Pak-Afghan trade. The delegation comprises PAJCCI members, senior business leaders of Nangarhar and Kunar Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Chairman PAJCCI Zubair Motiwala praised the efforts of the commerce chamber in arranging visits to Chaman, Torkham and Swat for joint deliberations on bilateral and transit trade, exploring new avenues for trade, removing trade barriers and supporting governments in policy formulation.
