The Balochistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Quetta, Pakistan, has appealed to the federal government to issue work permits to skilled Afghan refugees who work in various sectors including mining and agriculture.

Haji Akhtar Kakar, the vice president of the chamber of commerce and industry, made the request while pointing out that the existing shortage of skilled labour could worsen further if the issue was not addressed promptly, Dawn news reported.

This comes amid Pakistan’s ongoing campaign to expel hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees living in the country.

Akhtar said however that due to Balochistan’s deteriorating security situation, mine owners, farmers and industrialists have had to rely on Afghans for skilled labor as Pakistani workers from other provinces were reluctant to move to Balochistan.

According to him, the decision to expel Afghan refugees had severely impacted the agriculture, mining, and industrial sectors in Balochistan, as a significant portion of the workforce came from Afghanistan.

Acting Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, Attaullah Omari, on Tuesday met with a delegation and representatives from the Chinese private sector in Kabul and they discussed expanding cooperation, investment in agriculture, livestock, and irrigation, as well as sharing China’s experiences with Afghanistan.

In a statement, the agriculture ministry said that the Chinese delegation emphasized the Beijing private sector’s interest in investing in Afghanistan’s agriculture and livestock sectors.

The Chinese delegation also expressed readiness to begin practical projects once certain facilities such as land leasing are arranged, the statement read.

The Chinese delegation also met with Nooruddin Azizi, the acting Minister of Industry and Commerce.

During this meeting, Azizi stated that they would provide all necessary facilities for foreign investors.

Over the past three years, most Chinese companies have shown interest in investing in Afghanistan’s mining sector. However, this marks the first time that Chinese investors are seeking to invest in the country’s agriculture sector.

Afghanistan will showcase goods, made in the country, at the KhazanForum in Russia next month, the Russian Economic Development Ministry’s department director Pavel Kalmychek said.

“The government of Tatarstan agreed to provide a platform for an exposition of goods from Afghanistan, there will be an exposition. I am confident that it will generate a certain interest, especially in the light of the recent decisions on lifting the ban on the Taliban (Islamic Emirate),” TASS quoted him as saying.

This comes after Russia’s Supreme Court last week scratched the Islamic Emirate from its list of banned organizations.

Zamir Kabulov, Russia’s special envoy for Afghanistan, confirmed recently that a Russian-Afghan business forum will be held on the sidelines of the KazanForum.

He said Russia’s delegation would be led by Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk, while Afghanistan would be represented at a high government and business level, TASS reported.

The 16th International Economic Forum ‘Russia – Islamic World: KazanForum’ will take place on May 13-18 in Kazan.

The main theme for this year has been defined as ‘Digitalization: New Reality and Additional Opportunities for Expanding Cooperation’.