News On Iran & Its NeighboursAfghanistanAfghan eyes Iran deal to boost trade to Europe,...

Afghan eyes Iran deal to boost trade to Europe, India

-

Reuters: Afghanistan hopes an agreement with Iran to use one of its ports will help boost exports to Europe and India and reduce its dependence on neighbouring Pakistan’s ports for trade. Iran will allow land-locked Afghanistan to use the port to export goods to India and other countries.

KABUL  (Reuters) – Afghanistan hopes an agreement with Iran to use one of its ports will help boost exports to Europe and India and reduce its dependence on neighbouring Pakistan’s ports for trade.

Iran will allow land-locked Afghanistan to use the port to export goods like fruit and carpets to India and other countries, according to the spokesman for Afghanistan’s Ministry of Commerce and Industries.

“We want to export to central Asia and Europe, India wants to use the port to send goods to Afghanistan,” Wahidullah Ghazikhel told Reuters.

Afghanistan currently relies on the port of Karachi in Pakistan for the bulk of its sea exports.

But that leaves traders vulnerable to political disputes between the United States and Pakistan, which has closed its border with Afghanistan at least twice over recent years, cutting U.S. military supplies to Afghanistan, as well as routine trade.

“If the Pakistani government’s relationship with the United States goes bad, this impacts our traders,” Ghazikhel said.

In the most recent disruption on the Afghan-Pakistani border, private transport companies were banned from moving Afghan goods to Karachi, delaying containers for about three months.

Not only did the contents, including milk and eggs, spoil, but companies were also charged a total of $10 million for renting storage space for their delayed containers, he said.

“We are very interested in exporting to European countries and working on other ways (that avoid Pakistan’s port),” the spokesman said.

Millions of dollars have been invested in companies that aim to export “premium” fruit such as pomegranate, prized by the health-conscious in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Afghanistan also exports many other types of fresh and dried fruit, saffron and carpets. But although it sees agriculture as a driving force in its economy, Afghanistan continues to rely on imports for most of its food.

(Reporting by Jessica Donati)

Latest news

 Statistics show that New Year accidents’ deaths in Iran reached 585

Ahmad Shirani, the head of the Information and Traffic Control Center of the Iranian regime’s police, announced that the...

Land Subsidence in Critical Conditions in Isfahan

Mehdi Toghyani, a member of the Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliament), pointed to the occurrence of land subsidence in various...

Iran’s Actual Inflation Rate Higher Than Official Stats

The state-run Donya-e-eqtesad newspaper, in a report analyzing the "general sentiment" regarding inflation in 2023, has stated that households...

Iranian Workers’ Monthly $136 Wages Can’t Cover $500 Expenses

The lives of a significant portion of the Iranian population are marked by uncertainty, largely because the Iranian economy...

Iranian Nurses Earn Twice Their Wages in Ride-Hailing Services

Reza Aryanpour, a member of the regime’s Majlis (parliament) Health and Treatment Commission, highlighted the growing trend of nurses...

Iran: Unprecedented Record of 152 Million Liters of Gasoline Consumption Per Day

On March 19, Iran set a new historical record in gasoline consumption with 152 million liters consumed in one...

Must read

How Obama was checkmated by Iran

Bloomberg: “Down is up and up is down. I...

Coalition discovers Iranian weapons south of Iraqi capital

Iran Focus: London, May 05 – Coalition troops in...

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you