Trade pact soon between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan
A draft trade agreement between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka is under preparation. “We have already received the approved draft agreement from the Afghanistan government and are looking forward to sign the agreement with the Sri Lankan government,” said Munir Ghisy, Charge’d affairs of the Embassy of Afghanistan at a discussion held at the National Chamber of Commerce Colombo last week on promoting bilateral trade between the two countries.
He said establishing direct flights between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka can boost trade between the two countries as his country has an abundance of untapped reserves such as gold, copper and lithium, a key component necessary for the manufacture of laptops and Blackberry phones.
Mr. Ghisy said this will open up new opportunities for potential investors to visit the country for mining purposes in the future. A rail network that connects Afghanistan with Uzbekistan has been completed boosting trade with Central Asian countries in the future. ” We also have established direct flights with India to airlift food items for Afghanistan” he added.
Referring to Afghanistan’s connectivity in the region and beyond, he said it was lined to the revival of the Silk Route that will connect Central Asia, South Asia and the Middle Eastern countries. “Our main concern is that South Asia remains the least integrated region and lack of progress was the key obstacle for development. The rail network connecting Afghanistan to Uzbekistan has been completed boosting trade with Central Asian countries in the future. Afghanistan will continue to invest in railway lines, power, roads and air routes.”
He said Afghanistan has been a member of the WTO since July 2016 and is keen to trade with Sri Lanka. “We are a new member and looking forward to trade by using the guidelines set out by the WTO. Another important factor was the opening up an air corridor between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan with direct flights connecting the two countries,” he said adding that direct commercial flights between Afghanistan and India have commenced recently.
Meanwhile plans will be made to invite Afghanistan trade delegations to Sri Lanka by the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka to promote bilateral trade between the two countries in the future. “There is great potential for exporting dried fruits from Afghanistan to Sri Lanka,” he said.