Daily Times

AFGHANISTAN-PAKISTANPakistan and Afghanistan will initiate talks on revision of a transit agreement and a Preferential Trade Agreement for giving boost to bilateral trade between the two countries, Pakistani ambassador to Afghanistan Mansoor Khan says.

The negotiations will start during the visit to Afghanistan by Prime Minister’s Adviser on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razzak Dawood on Nov 16-18, Khan told Daily Times from Kabul.

Pakistan and landlocked Afghanistan had signed a transit trade agreement in 1965 that was revised in 2010. Pakistan had been providing transit facility to Afghanistan since then and both sides have now suggested amendments in the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA).

“The Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment will have discussions with the Afghan side on starting negotiations on revision of APTTA and PTA for giving boost to bilateral trade,” the ambassador said.

The two sides will hold a meeting of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Coordination Authority (APTTCA), which coordinates the APTTA.

The last meeting of APTTCA was held in Islamabad in 2016 and the 7th APTTCA meeting to address operational difficulties in the transit trade. “I am really encouraged by the positivity the two sides are showing to make concrete progress on all these issues, which will deeply contribute to strengthen Pakistan- Afghanistan relations,” he said.

Last month business leaders, members of chambers of commerce and lawmakers from both countries attended a two-day seminar on Pakistan-Afghanistan Trade and Investment Forum 2020 in Islamabad and deliberated on ways to open up new vistas of cooperation and boost bilateral trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Commerce Minister of Afghanistan Nisar Ghoriyani, who also visited Pakistan last month held talks with Pakistani officials to boost bilateral trade and to address each other’s concerns regarding problems in bilateral and transit trade.