Air cargo services between India and Afghanistan are set to begin shortly, an Indian foreign ministry official announced on Friday during a visit by Afghanistan’s Taliban Trade Minister Al-Haj Nooruddin Azizi to New Delhi.
“I am pleased to announce that the air freight corridor on the Kabul-Delhi sector and Kabul-Amritsar routes have been activated and cargo flights on these sectors will come very soon,” said Anand Prakash, a ministry official.
This will significantly enhance their connectivity and further strengthen our trade and commercial ties, he added.
Azizi made the comments while speaking at an interactive session with the delegation from Afghanistan, organised by PHDCCI.
Azizi is on a five-day visit to India aimed at expanding trade ties, including boosting the export of Afghan agricultural products, amid ongoing tensions between Kabul and Islamabad.
Afghan officials said discussions are likely to cover expanding bilateral trade volumes, particularly agricultural exports to India; increasing Indian exports of pharmaceuticals, machinery, and textiles; establishing more reliable transport corridors through air cargo routes and Iran’s Chabahar port; restoring payment channels disrupted since Afghan banks lost access to SWIFT; and reviving the earlier India-Afghanistan Air Freight Corridor.
Azizi’s visit comes less than two months after Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi visited New Delhi, opening a new chapter in ties with India upgrading its diplomatic mission in Kabul.
Pakistan, displeased over Kabul’s growing engagement with India, launched cross-border military strikes. Kabul retaliated, but peace talks have yielded little progress.
The current visit also comes amid the closure of Pakistan’s land border following the clashes, which has caused heavy losses to Afghan exports such as fruits. The Taliban regime has advised its traders to diversify trade to other countries.