Pakistani delegation to visit Kabul for bilateral trade ties

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani delegation will leave for Kabul on Monday (today) to hold talks with Afghan officials on bilateral cooperation in trade, transit, transport, and border facilitation.

The delegation will be led by Secretary Commerce Sualeh Ahmed Faruqui and will comprise senior officers from Ministry of Commerce, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), National Logistics Cell (NLC), Ministry of Interior, and Power Division.

During its three-day visit, the delegation will also discuss issues being faced by traders in bilateral and transit trade between the two countries.

The visit is a continuation of an ongoing process of bilateral engagements between Pakistan and Afghanistan in trade, transit, connectivity and economic cooperation.

On July 6, the commerce ministers of both countries held a virtual meeting and agreed to enhance bilateral economic and trade ties and work on increasing economic integration.

Earlier last month, the federal cabinet approved a new visa regime for Afghan citizens including traders and those visiting the country on medical grounds.

Under the reviewed policy, the Pakistan missions abroad would process the visa applications of Afghans on the basis of existing passport and nationality instead of their country of origin.

In order to further promote bilateral trade with Afghanistan, the cabinet had approved the inclusion of a sub-category in the work visa category for drivers, transporters and helpers. The approval for introducing the sub-category in the online visa system was also given.

It was also decided that a multi-entry visa for six months would be issued within 48 hours, while the interior ministry had been authorized to extend the period to one year.

Afghans seeking visas in driver, transporter and helper categories have been exempted from obtaining the Board of Investment’s (BOI) letter of recommendation and registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).

A committee had been set up to ensure the continuity of ease of doing business for traders. The cabinet also approved relaxing the visa policy for those coming from Afghanistan on medical grounds.

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