Pakistan commerce ministry says new Afghan transit trade agreement near completion

Trucks carry goods on its way to neighboring Afghanistan through the Khyber Pass in Pakistani tribal area, Tuesday, March 21, 2017. (AP)

• Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to extend existing Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement for six months in July
• Pakistan says will increase bilateral trade with Afghanistan, which stood at $2 billion in 2019, to $5 billion in five years

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan have already agreed to extend the existing Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) for six months while 97 percent work on a new agreement has been completed, the Pakistani commerce secretary was reported as saying by state-run news agency APP on Thursday. 
Pakistan has said it plans to increase the volume of bilateral trade with Afghanistan, which stood at $2 billion in 2019, to $5 billion in the next five years.
Signed in 2010, APTTA allows Kabul to use Pakistan’s land to transport goods to India. Under the agreement, goods are taken to the Wagah crossing point using Pakistan’s territory from where Indian trucks transport them to their intended destinations. Pakistan does not allow import of goods from India to Afghanistan via land route.
Speaking at a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Commerce on Wednesday, Commerce Secretary Muhammad Sualeh Ahmad Faruqi said all trade-related issues with Afghanistan had been “settled.”
“The secretary pointed to his visit to Chaman after the change in political setup in Afghanistan and said that there was no restriction on the movement of trucks to and from the neighbouring country,” APP quoted Faruqi as saying. “There was movement of around 1,047 trucks on Tuesday, of which 557 crossed the Torkham border, he added.”
Pakistan and Afghanistan in July signed the Protocol-VI of APTTA 2010 to extend APTTA for six months beyond May this year.
“The extension was essential to facilitate uninterrupted flow of transit trade between the two countries and to provide sufficient time to technical teams to conclude negotiations on the new APTTA 2021,” APP reported at the time of the signing.