ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to establish a national level coordination mechanism for enhancing facilitation at border crossing points.
The understanding reached during the two-day visit of National Security Advisor Moeed Yusuf to Kabul at his meetings with the Afghan interim government leadership.
The two sides also agreed to initiate barter trade, modalities for which will be worked out immediately. During the visit, which concluded on Sunday, Pakistan offered Afghanistan capacity building and training support in multiple sectors including health, education, banking, customs, railways and aviation, among others.
Both sides also reiterated their commitment to early completion of the three major connectivity projects, CASA- 1000, TAPI, and Trans-Afghan Rail project. Afghanistan and Pakistan emphasised their commitment to ensuring peace and stability in both countries.
The objective of the visit was to discuss with Afghan leadership the humanitarian requirements of the country and Pakistan’s proposals for deepening economic engagement to overcome the current challenges Afghanistan is facing.
Special Envoy for Afghanistan Ambassador Muhammad Sadiq and senior officials from relevant Ministries were part of the delegation.
During the two-day visit, the NSA called on Afghanistan’s acting Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdus Salam Hanafi and the Acting Foreign Minister Mullah Amir Khan Muttaqi to discuss the current situation in Afghanistan and strengthening of bilateral relations between the two countries.
Dr Moeed Yousuf also held delegation level meetings with other relevant Afghan Ministers and senior officials dealing with humanitarian and economic issues.
The visit yielded substantive outcomes in terms of forward movement on trade facilitation and social sector support. Dr Yusuf thanked the interim Afghan government for their warm hospitality.
