Kamila Sidiqi, acting Minister for Commerce and Industries of Afghanistan, in a letter to Commerce Minister Pervaiz Malik has stated that in September last year Humayoon Rasaw, Afghan Minister of Commerce and Industries, had a meeting with Pakistan''s ambassador to Afghanistan in Kabul. On that occasion, the minister presented him a letter, addressed to his Pakistani counterpart, in which he proposed, on behalf of the government of Afghanistan, to replace the Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement, signed in Kabul on October 28, 2010, with a new agreement.
"In the meeting with the ambassador, the minister also explained the reasons of this request. Above all, the new agreement should adjust the bilateral relations between our countries to the rules of the multilateral trading system of which both of them are members," the sources quoted Sidiqi as saying in her letter. She was of the view that the existing agreement could not adjust Afghanistan''s other friend countries, probably pointing out India, which is not the member of APTTCA.
"This cannot be achieved in the framework of the consulting mechanism established under the present agreement. Afghan minister, therefore, proposed a meeting, at ministerial level, possibly in the third week of January 2018 at the place of Pakistani commerce minister''s choice, in order to formally open negotiations for a new agreement," the sources quoted her as saying.
The Afghan minister also stated that regrettably, Afghanistan did not receive any reaction from Pakistani side till then, adding that negotiations should be started as soon as possible. In response to Afghan minister of commerce and industries, Pakistani Secretary Commerce Younus Dagha reaffirmed that Pakistan values its relations with Afghanistan. He further stated that minister of commerce and industries of Afghanistan through a letter by Khurram Dastgir Khan, then Commerce Minister of Pakistan, was invited to visit Islamabad in April 2017. However, no response was received.
The commerce minister was of the view that the 5th ECO-Ministerial Meeting on Commerce and Trade is scheduled to be held on 23-24 January, 2018 in Islamabad. Minister of Commerce and Industries of Afghanistan Humayun Rasaw has also been invited through a letter of September 18, 2017; however, confirmation is still awaited.
"You and minister of commerce and industries are once again cordially invited to visit Islamabad to participate in the 5th ECO-Ministerial meeting on Commerce and Trade from 23-24 January, 2018. On the sidelines of ECO Ministerial meeting in Islamabad, the two ministers may meet to deliberate upon all outstanding issues and carve out further way forward to resolve such issues," Dagha added.
He reiterated that trade ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan should reflect upon the deep-rooted political and cultural relations between the two sides. Insiders claim that Afghanistan is unlikely to send its minister or deputy minister to attend the ECO meeting and reports from Kabul indicate that Afghan secretary commerce is expected to represent the country.
This implies that a meeting is to be held between the commerce secretaries of both countries on the sidelines of the ECO Commerce Minister Meeting or in the Commerce Ministry to discuss bilateral trade issues.