Business
Iran launches trade routes through Afghanistan for Central Asia
Two new key trade corridors between Iran and Central Asian countries, through Afghanistan, have been launched and are expected to considerably boost trade activities in the region.
According to Ruhollah Latifi, spokesman for the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), the two corridors are the Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan-Afghanistan-Iran (KTAI) route and the Iran-Afghanistan-Uzbekistan corridor.
He told Tehran Times that the aim of the corridors is to bolster trade via Iranian borders.
According to IRICA, Iran sent two shipments of goods from Shahid Rajaei Port in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas to Uzbekistan via the newly established Iran-Afghanistan-Uzbekistan corridor a few weeks ago. This was a pilot operation to assess the route and proved successful.
According to IRICA Director of Transit Bureau Mostafa Ayati, the launch of the KTAI route in late July was also successful.
Ayati said as a short and low-cost route to Central Asian countries under the TIR Convention, the development of transit corridors through Afghanistan is supported by both international bodies and the Iranian government.
He said all stakeholders were determined to develop this sector.
“The pilot opening of this corridor indicates that Afghanistan is seriously determined to develop transit in its territory and connect Central Asian countries to the southern waters, including the ports along the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman (Chabahar),” he noted.
Tehran Times reported that on July 26, Iran sent two truckloads of goods from Shahid Rajaei Port to Kyrgyzstan through the KTAI corridor for the first time.
The corridor was launched by IRICA in collaboration with the International Road Transport Union (IRU), and Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) under the framework of the TIR Convention.
The Convention on International Transport of Goods Under Cover of TIR Carnets (TIR Convention) is a multilateral treaty that was concluded in Geneva on 14 November 1975 to simplify and harmonize the administrative formalities of international road transport.
A third corridor, India-Iran-Afghanistan route, is another critical route for trade through Iran between India and Afghanistan. This route is already up and running. Recently the seventh shipment of wheat from India for Afghanistan arrived at Chabahar Port.
Business
Ministry of commerce allocates land for oil refineries
Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce Nooruddin Azizi, said in a meeting with oil refinery officials that as soon as they are ready to invest, the ministry will establish an oil and gas industrial park.
In this meeting, refinery officials discussed problems regarding the Qashqari oil field and agreed that land should be provided. They said oil extracted from Qashqari needed to be refined through the standard process.
Azizi, while announcing the cooperation and support of the Islamic Emirate and especially the Ministry of Commerce and Industry for the private sector of the country, said: “A joint proposal should be arranged and submitted to this ministry for the land of the refineries, and also if the officials of the refineries are ready to invest in the area of Dara-e-Hairatan, an oil and gas industrial park will be created and the land will be placed under their control.”
Azizi emphasized the need to increase the capacity of existing refineries and the quality of oil, shared the decision of the High Economic Commission regarding the establishment of a large refinery.
Business
Pakistan’s Federal Secretary of Commerce invited to visit Kabul
Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce, Nooruddin Azizi, has invited Pakistan’s Federal Secretary of Commerce Mohammad Khurram Agha to visit Kabul.
In a virtual meeting, the two sides discussed the progress made in the last two and a half years in the country, the increase in trade between the two countries, solving problems and removing trade and transit barriers.
They also discussed the need for more facilities, establishing close relations between the governments and private sectors of the two countries and boosting regional cooperation, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce said in a statement Monday.
Business
Headline inflation in Afghanistan down to -10.2% in January: World Bank
In January 2024, headline inflation experienced a significant downturn, reaching -10.2 percent on a year-on-year basis, the World Bank said in a report.
This substantial drop was largely due to a sharp decline in prices across both food and non-food categories, the report said.
Moreover, core inflation, which strips out the typically volatile food and energy sectors, also fell into negative territory, posting a rate of -6.5 percent on year-on-year basis.
“This ongoing core deflation reflects a troubling inability of both private and public sectors to stimulate sufficient demand. While this period of falling prices may offer temporary financial relief to the most vulnerable households by reducing the cost of living, it can also harm the broader macroeconomy,” the World Bank said.
According to the bank, Afghanistan’s exports contracted by 5 percent on year-on-year basis to $140.5 million in January 2024, down from $148.1 million the previous January.
Food exports to India jumped by 22 percent, compared to an 18 percent decline in Pakistan. Pakistan and India continued to be the top export destinations, claiming 45 percent and 34 percent of the total exports in January 2024, respectively.
The 2023 growth trend in imports extended into January 2024, hitting $830 million, up 37 percent from $600 million in January 2023.
According to the report, in 2023, the afghani (AFN) saw a significant 27 percent appreciation against the US dollar, buoyed by the influx of around $1.8 billion in UN cash shipments and an estimated $2 billion in remittances.
Revenues have been below the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s (IEA) target during the first eleven months of FY2024, with border taxes underperforming despite a surge in imports.
Over the eleven-month span of FY2024, from March 22, 2023, to February 21, 2024, Afghanistan’s revenue collection reached AFN 189 billion, narrowly missing the target by 2 percent but marking a 5.6 percent increase from the previous fiscal year, the report said.
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