Consultation meeting with private sector representatives of Balkh, Herat, Kunduz, and Kabul Provinces on Amending APTTA Agreement

June 29, 2021

Consultative meeting on the amended text of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) with representatives of the private sector in Balkh, Herat, Kunduz, and Kabul provinces with an opening speech by Mr. Nisar Ahmad Ghoryani, Minister of Industry and Commerce, Deputy Minister of Transport and the Ministry of Finance, the Sector chamber, Afghanistan Chambers Federation, Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Chamber and representatives of trade and transit companies of the mentioned provinces were held in cooperation with the Harakat organization Office in Kabul.

Mr. Nisar Ahmad Ghoryani, who participated in the meeting online, said, we are trying to include the opinions and suggestions of private sector representatives in the border provinces, especially trade-transit companies, in the text of the amendment to the APTTA agreement.

Mr. Ghoryani added, the ministry, with the support of the H.E President, has begun talks with the Pakistani Ministry of Commerce to amend the APTTA, and progress has been made in this regard.

In this meeting, Mr. Hojjatullah Fazli, the executive director of the Harakat office, announced their support for the comprehensive plans of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, especially the amendment of the APTTA, and said, we want our private sector to benefit the most from the amendment of this agreement.

Meanwhile, Mr. Khanjan Alkozay, chairman of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Chamber, said, the APTTA signed between the two countries in 2010; Pakistan and traders have benefited the most, but the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, together with the private sector, is currently working to persuade traders from the two countries to adjust the profit-sharing agreement.

Appreciating the MoIC leadership and the Ministry's negotiating team for amending the APTTA with Pakistan, Mr. Alkozay said, now everyone is working to amend the agreement, which is in the interest of the country's trade with the region, especially South Asia.

At this meeting, the deputies of the Ministries of Finance and Transport presented information on the role of their ministries in amending the APTTA and announced their cooperation with the MoIC in amending the text of the said agreement.

Representatives of the private sector in Balkh, Herat, Kunduz, and Kabul provinces also shared their views and suggestions on amending the agreement, led by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.

Thus far, consultative meetings have been held with the representatives of the private sector in Kandahar, Nangarhar, and Khost provinces to amend the APTTA agreement to include their views in the amended text of the agreement.

The MoIC leadership, with the support of the H.E President, seeks to amend the APTTA with the principles and standards of the World Trade Organization, on which the negotiating teams of the two countries have held several talks.