The Ministry of Industry and Commerce reported that  in the first four months of 2024, trade with Pakistan amounted to $802 million.

Akhundzada Abdul Salam Jawad, the ministry's spokesperson, noted that exports accounted for $254 million of this total.

The primary Afghan exports to Pakistan include fresh fruits, vegetables, coal, cotton, and carpets.

Akhundzada Abdul Salam Jawad told TOLOnews: “In the first four months of this year, trade between Afghanistan and Pakistan was about $802 million, with $254 million from exports and $548 million from imports.”

Simultaneously, Shahbaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, also announced at an economic conference that Islamabad is ready to discuss preferential trade agreements with Afghanistan and Azerbaijan. The Prime Minister of Pakistan did not provide details on the preferential trade.

Mahboobullah Mohammadi, an Afghan trader, told TOLOnews: “All plans should be designed according to operational guidelines and reactions to this agreement so that both countries will face all strategies in the future due to this agreement and all terms should be clearly outlined.”

Experts said that such agreements primarily serve economic and commercial purposes. These include developing the domestic market, attracting investments, fostering regional specialization, enhancing competition, and facilitating more substantial involvement in multilateral trade negotiations. Additionally, these agreements often pursue political and security objectives that can enhance regional political stability.

Abdul Nasir Rishtia, an economist, said: “Such agreements mainly strive to exchange specific goods and give preference to each other's commercial goods, and politically, it is emphasized that they form an economic convergence.”

The Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Chamber of Commerce also believes that signing trade agreements impacts the enhancement of trade relations with countries and emphasizes resolving the trade challenges of Afghanistan with regional countries, especially Pakistan, through dialogue.

Naqibullah Safi, the executive head of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Chamber of Commerce, said: “It had been proposed that a preferential trade document be signed between the two countries, and based on that, tariffs for 10 to 15 items between us and Pakistan should be reduced to zero.”

Recently, the acting Minister of Industry and Commerce announced efforts to overcome the trade challenges with Pakistan, stating that they had reached an agreement for normal flow of vehicle traffic and trade with this country in the current solar year.