Adviser to the Prime Minister on Trade and Commerce, Abdul Razak Dawood has said that Pakistan’s exports to Afghanistan increased by 20 percent in the last fiscal year 2020-21. In a series of tweets on Saturday, the advisor said that regional trade and connectivity is an important pillar of the country’s policy. He said that Pakistan’s exports to Afghanistan reached $1.02 billion in FY21 from $851 million a year before. Dawood also noted that Pakistan and Afghanistan are in the process of negotiating a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) which is likely to further increase commercial activities between them. As a landlocked country, Afghanistan massively depends on its neighbours for trade to strengthen its economy. The two countries can further enhance the trade potential which has so far been held back by the region’s complex security situation. A day earlier, Abdul Razak Dawood said that Pakistan’s exports to the United Kingdom increased by 33 percent to $2.025 billion during the just concluded fiscal year 2020-21 as compared to $1.526 billion during the financial year 2019-20. Pakistan’s exports of goods grew by 18.11 percent to $25.268 billion during the fiscal year 2020-21. The exports of services for the year are projected to be $5.9 billion. The cumulative exports of goods and services during the fiscal year 2020-21 will, therefore, cross the $31 billion mark.