Cross-border trade: Dawood to meet Afghan commerce minister tomorrow

ISLAMABAD: A high-powered delegation led by Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce, Textile, Industry and Production, and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood, accompanied by Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Mohammad Sadiq, is scheduled to meet Afghan Minister of Commerce and his team at Torkham border on February 28.

This was informed during the meeting of the Afghanistan Inter-Ministerial Coordination Cell (AICC), said a press release. The two delegations will visit the Torkham border to witness the cross-border movement of pedestrians and vehicles.

The scheduled meeting will discuss various important matters related to the smooth movement of people and patients across the border, issuance of temporary admission documents, increase in timings of border crossing points, the establishment of joint border infrastructure, training of Afghan nominees for trade-related capacity building courses and smooth crossing of humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan.

The time frame for reinitiating the stalled Torkham-Jalalabad road project and the start of the luxury bus service between Peshawar-Jalalabad and Quetta-Kandahar will also be part of the discussion.

MoC for preserving country’s presence in Afghan market

Prime Minister Imran Khan has announced a Rs5 billion package to assist Afghanistan in addressing the impending humanitarian and economic crisis. Under the package, several initiatives have been taken by AICC including the supply of lifesaving medicines and technical assistance for restoration and functioning of hospitals.

In addition to PM’s Relief Package, Pakistan is also sending relief goods and food supplies to Afghanistan on daily basis. Recently, a delegation of Afghan Chambers also visited Pakistan and held discussions with the business community to explore trade opportunities between the two countries.