President Arif Alvi said Pakistan and Afghanistan must work towards enhancing their relationship with the aid of bilateral trade. The two neighbouring countries can easily mutually benefit one another through the enhancement of trade ties, the development of better networks with cross-border business communities and the swift customs clearance of consignments at the shared borders.

The president stated that peace would enable Afghanistan to develop into a trade and energy connectivity corridor in the region during a meeting with Ubaid ur Rehman Nizamani, Head of Mission at Pakistan's Embassy in Kabul.

A peaceful Afghanistan would also hasten the completion of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline, Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (TAP), and Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (CASA-1000) power projects. A peaceful Afghanistan would also increase transit trade between Central Asian nations and Pakistan.

The president stated that Pakistan could provide Allama Iqbal Open University and the Virtual University of Pakistan online or recorded educational packages to both male and female Afghan students in order for them to receive a quality education without having to physically attend the educational institutions.

In order to speed up the exchange of goods, particularly perishable ones, he emphasized the establishment and regularization of border markets between the two nations. This will help the people living in border areas reduce wastage and enhance their economic well-being. 

In order to further strengthen bilateral ties between the two nations, President Alvi expressed the hope that the new head of mission would fulfil his responsibility in that regard.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk