KARACHI: Pakistan Afghanistan joint chamber of commerce & industry (PAJCCI)’s chairman, Muhammad Zubair Motiwala, appreciated the decision of border officials in Pakistan and Afghanistan to reopen the ‘Friendship Gate’ at the Pak-Afghan border at Chaman on Thursday after 14 days of its closure. The border was closed on 18th August, 2016 due to the violent disturbance at the spot, that significantly affected the trade activities between the two countries. The traders on both the sides were facing immense losses during the time which also reflected upon the confidence across the border. However, after the successful negotiations, the two sides agreed to improve cooperation and coordination between border security officials to avoid such untoward incidences in future. Motiwala iterated that keeping current distraught and declining morale in view, PAJCCI across the border is aiming to initiate a series of confidence building measures to help strengthen and revive the connectivity between the two countries. Lately, it was observed that both transit and trade have been critically affected and business community in the two countries in particular and in the region in general is suffering miserably. PAJCCI as part of its legacy, is keenly working on organizing B2B networking events, stakeholder meetings and advocacy sessions at the policy makers level, not only to gain momentum across the border but also in the region, during the upcoming 6 months. Zubair Motiwala established that Afghanistan is hub of regional business integration and peace prospects and business community in both the countries are highly interested in common opportunities. PAJCCI will surely pave ways for the business entities by nourishing a platform whereby they can work together in a congenial manner for mutual benefits. He also invited all the chambers across the border to align their business interests at one platform for better prospects and long-run economic sustainability. He reinforced that politics must be segregated from business and economy friendly policies must be put in place for the advancement of all the stakeholders. He also sought extension of support from both the governments towards PAJCCI in its effort to satiate this joint vision of economic prosperity, which is a dire need of both the countries.