On Monday, FICCI hosted a Business Interactive meeting with Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, and his high-level delegation. During the meeting, the Afghan Foreign Minister assured the Indian business community that Afghanistan had established the necessary peace and stability, creating favorable conditions for enhanced economic engagement between the two nations. He highlighted that bilateral trade has already reached $1 billion.
As stated in an official release, several Indian companies have resumed operations on various projects in Afghanistan, and the Afghan government is making every effort to bolster India’s involvement and strengthen the bilateral economic relationship. Minister Muttaqi emphasized the importance of sectors such as healthcare, education, infrastructure, logistics, aviation, agriculture, and banking, and underscored the role of FICCI and the Afghan Chamber of Commerce in realizing these objectives.
Among the Indian companies that have resumed operations are KEC and Max Hospital, while Amity University is supporting several Afghan students and expressing interest in establishing a collaborative campus in Afghanistan.
Indian industry representatives, however, raised concerns about visa-related bottlenecks that continue to hinder smooth business travel between the two countries. They called for immediate resolution of this issue. They also stressed the need to streamline logistics, particularly the movement of goods, to prevent delays in the execution of projects by Indian companies in Afghanistan.
The Indian industry has shown a strong interest in deepening its engagement with Afghanistan, and the Afghan Foreign Minister assured that the country would work to create and maintain a conducive environment for enhancing economic cooperation.
Earlier, Minister Muttaqi invited India to invest in Afghanistan’s rich mineral resources and urged New Delhi to help facilitate trade by reopening the Wagah border, calling it the “fastest trade route” between the two nations.
Speaking at a press conference in New Delhi on Sunday, Muttaqi shared that he had met with India’s External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, to discuss economic and trade issues, among other topics. During this meeting, Jaishankar announced that India’s mission in Kabul would be upgraded to Embassy status, and diplomats from Kabul would be arriving in New Delhi.
Muttaqi also revealed that both countries had reached an agreement on “trade and economy,” and emphasized areas for potential collaboration, including minerals, agriculture, and sports. He reiterated Afghanistan’s formal invitation for Indian investment in these sectors, adding that the Chabahar port and the reopening of the Wagah border were key points of discussion. “The Wagah border is the fastest and easiest trade route between India and Afghanistan,” he said.
