Monday August 6, 2018
Kabul (BNA) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed to ease trade between Afghanistan and Kazakhstan.
Officials for ministry of commerce and industries have reported that an agreement was signed the other day for creating transit facilities between Afghanistan and Kazakhstan. Currently, trade between the two countries reaches to nearly $600 million. Kazakh officials say investors from Kazakhstan have visited Afghanistan and are eager to invest in the country. Ministry of commerce and industries says the respective pre-condition document will be for expansion of trade and transit relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Meanwhile, a number of traders and owners of industries are stressing on further expansion of trade relations and investment with Kazakhstan. Yasin, who is owner of food and logistics companies in Kabul, told that most of imported stuffs were from Kazakhstan and Afghans were also good purchasers of these stuffs. He asked Afghanistan government in particular ministry of commerce and industries to further expand its trade relations with Kazakhstan and ease trade for Afghan traders so that they could expand their trade relations with other countries of Central Asia. It is said that World Trade Organization (WTO) with close cooperation of EU will ease trade and transit between Afghanistan and Kazakhstan. It is determined that a joint meeting of traders and representatives of Afghanistan and Kazakhstan will be soon held in Astana, capital city of Kazakhstan.
Over 30 representatives of government and the private sector attended the meeting in Kazakhstan on Saturday. At this meeting, officials from the Ministry for Investment and Development of Kazakhstan said Kazakh investors are keen to invest in Afghanistan. Zakia, representative of Afghanistan Women Chambers of Commerce and Industries, hopes that the meeting will resolve most of problems of Afghan traders. Head of Afghanistan Chambers of Commerce and Industries Rahimullah Samandar says Kazakhstan is a country which we have lots of trade with it and we are trying to provide some trade facilities between the two countries.
Addressing of visa problems between the two countries, solving problem in customhouses bordering the two countries and preparing the ground for using Trade International Road (TIR), expansion of railway and other relevant issues will be discussed between officials of the two countries in the joint meeting to be soon held in Kazakhstan. It is worth mentioning that Kazakhstan is one of the region’s largest exporters of wheat and wheat flour and holds grain reserves that are of major strategic importance for the continent. While Afghanistan has trade relation with Kazakhstan in the past, this is the first time the high-level discussions are taking place between Afghan and Kazakh officials regarding providing trade facilities between the two countries.
Shukria Kohistani
