KARACHI: Delegation members of the Pakistan-Afghan Joint Committee have emphasized the need to effectively deal with numerous bottlenecks hindering enhanced trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan which declined to less than $1.5 billion in 2015 and continued to go down in 2016. Exchanging views during their visit to the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the delegation members said that trade must thrive and move on a fast-track basis which can be done when business communities work together and play the role of a strong bridge by bringing people of the two countries closer together. Businessmen Group Chairman and former KCCI president Siraj Kassam Teli, KCCI President Shamim Ahmed Firpo, Senior Vice President KCCI Asif Nisar, Vice President KCCI Muhammad Younus Soomro, MNA Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, Former Deputy Minister for Trade & Commerce Afghanistan Mozammil Shinwari, Former Pakistan’s Ambassador Mian Sanaullah, Advisor to Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense Ms. Wazhma Frogh, Senior Journalist Muhammad Tahir and others were present at the meeting. The delegation members stated that the bottlenecks hindering Pakistan-Afghanistan trade can easily be removed if the two sides act diligently and honestly. They also expressed deep concerns over delays in clearance of Afghanistan bound goods and further informed that many Pakistani suppliers were exporting sub-standard and poor-quality goods to Afghanistan, particularly pharma products, which was another major reason behind descending trade between the two countries. “Due to low quality of goods being supplied by Pakistani companies, the Afghan people prefer not to buy Pakistan goods which requires serious attention”, said Advisor to Afghanistan’s Ministry of Defense Ms. Wazhma Frogh. She stressed that this issue has to be addressed in order to save the existing trade volume from further depreciation. Warmly welcoming the delegates, the former KCCI president stated that the economic relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan were more important than political relations hence, the business communities from both sides must look for opportunities to further strengthen the existing trade ties and this must be done expediently. Extending full support and cooperation to members of Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Committee, Siraj Teli stated that the Karachi Chamber was already trying to improve the existing relations between two countries and they will be more than happy to fully support and cooperate with the Joint Committee as well which has been formed to improve trade ties and enhance people-to-people contact. “In this regard, Karachi Chamber is ready to nominate a focal person from KCCI who could promptly assist and respond to any inquiries from the members of Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Committee which would obviously improve linkages and prove favorable in dealing with numerous issues”, Chairman BMG said, “Our doors remain open to help in creating some kind of strong linkage between KCCI and Pakistan Afghanistan Joint Committee for furthering trade ties. He informed, “Pakistan-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry is also successfully being run by some of our friends from Karachi Chamber, which has brought business communities closer to each other”. Siraj Teli said that Karachi, being the largest city and the financial and industrial hub of Pakistan, offers immense opportunities and added facilities for investment and joint ventures to Afghanistan’s business community. “In this regard, we, at Karachi Chamber, are always there to support and help as much as possible”, he assured and hoped that the meeting between KCCI and Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Committee would prove to be very fruitful in furthering relations between the two countries. Earlier, KCCI President Shamim Ahmed Firpo, while welcoming the delegation of Pakistan-Afghanistan Joint Committee, pointed out that during Fiscal Year 2016, Pakistan’s exports descended to $1,230 million while its imports stood at $41 million, but these figures do not depict the actual trade volume between the two countries.