KABUL (SW) – Afghanistan has dispatched first test consignment of exports to Pakistan in line with the Convention on International Transport of Goods Under Cover of TIR Carnets.
Imam Mohammad Wremach, deputy minister for the Ministry of Transport, has hoped the TIR Carnets system would help overcome impediments in trade between the two countries. The Pakistan-bound consignment comprised of 25 tons of apple and 50 tons of cotton.
According to Mohammad Yonous Momand, deputy chairman of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) board of governors, up to 40 TIR Carnets have been issued from Afghanistan since 2013 while 3386 Afghanistan-bound TIR Carnets have been issued in Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Italy, Iran, Lithuania and Turkey.
Officials urged Afghan goods transporters to obtain TIR Carnets in a bid to access markets of the member countries.
The ACCI has so far facilitated registration of eight local goods transport firms for the TIR Carnets.
Afghanistan first obtained membership for TIR Carnets in 1975, but the civil war hindered proper utilization of the facility. In 2013, Afghanistan became full member of it.
The Convention on International Transport of Goods Under Cover of TIR Carnets (TIR Convention) is a multilateral treaty that was concluded at Geneva on 14 November 1975 to simplify and harmonise the administrative formalities of international road transport.
ENDS
