India Offers Full Trade Support to Afghanistan; Direct Kabul-Delhi, Kabul-Amritsar Cargo Flights Announced

India has offered all possible assistance to Afghanistan which has severed all trade ties as part of its strained relations with Pakistan. As part of this, India announced the impending start of cargo flight services between Kabul-Delhi and Kabul-Amritsar to ensure the speedy delivery of Afghan products to the Indian market.

The two countries have agreed to appoint commercial diplomats to each other's countries. The announcement was made by Anand Prakash, Joint Secretary (PAI-Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran) in the Ministry of External Affairs while addressing an event organized by the PHD Chamber.

The event was organized to welcome Afghan Commerce and Industry Minister Nuruddin Azizi, who was on a visit to India. In his speech, Azizi not only invited Indian companies to invest in Afghanistan but also urged Sikhs and Hindus who fled to India after the Taliban came to power in 2021 to return to Afghanistan.

Azizi stated that the Afghan government would welcome all returning Hindus and Sikhs and provide them with full support. Inviting Indian companies to invest, Azizi said, "We are tired of war. We don't want hostility with any country. We urge Indian companies to invest in Afghanistan's pharmaceutical, textile, and rice industries."

Afghanistan also has large reserves of precious metals, which Indian companies need. We urge the Indian government to take all possible steps to maintain the trade route through Chabahar Port." Due to the extremely poor relations with Pakistan, Chabahar Port is the only route left for Afghanistan to trade with other countries.

India built this port with this intention, but US sanctions on Iran have hampered the international community's confidence in its feasibility. Azizi is on a five-day visit to India. A day earlier, he met with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar along with his officials.

The meeting also discussed cooperation in business relations in detail. On Monday, Azizi will also meet with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, where both sides will discuss the situation. A future roadmap for increasing mutual trade between the countries will be discussed. The Afghan Commerce Minister's primary demand is the establishment of cargo services with India.

The goal behind this is to ensure the supply of essential goods from India, rather than the delivery of Afghan products to the Indian market. Currently, Pakistan has completely closed its border, resulting in shortages of many food grains and medicines in Afghanistan.