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 on Thursday on promoting bilateral trade between the two counties.
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 from Afghanistan,” he added.
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. (JJ)