KABUL (SW) – Officials in the Ministry of Industry and Trade say that the cabinet members have agreed to the plan prepared by the ministry for the transit of oil and liquid gas from Turkmenistan to Pakistan through Afghanistan.
Akhundzada Abdul Salam Javad, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, told Salam Watandar that in the first stage, this project will be implemented on a trial basis for six months, and during this stage, its impact on the domestic market of Afghanistan will be measured, and then action will be taken to implement it permanently.
The spokesperson of the Ministry of Industry and Trade did not say anything about Afghanistan’s right on transit trade from Turkmenistan’s petroleum and liquid gas exports, but he emphasized that the transit of oil and gas through Afghanistan will increase the national income and activate the transportation sector and provide employment.
Akhundzada Abdulsalam aadded that this transit will be implemented by domestic transport companies. “We want to see in the trial period that it doesn’t have a negative impact on our own markets and see how much we can handle these transfers,” he said. “Later we would see if we could make it permanent.
Analysts fear that Afghanistan does not have a regular transportation system, and along with this breakdown of the country’s transportation routes, especially in winter, it has brought challenges.
Abdul Nasir Rashtia, an expert on economic issues, said that if the government resolves these challenges, Afghanistan can provide a better environment for the transit of commercial goods from neighboring countries to other countries.
He aadded “If the government tries, because currently, it has the ability and money to move small projects in this direction. If the interactions with the neighboring countries increase and these countries accelerate the railway project, and more we can adapt the railway, this will be more beneficial for Afghanistan.”
However, the officials at the Ministry of Industry and Trade also informed about the transit flow of goods from Pakistan and India through Afghanistan to Central Asia and said that the transit of commercial goods from Pakistan and India is currently going through Afghanistan.
ENDS
