Osmani to Pak businessmen: Politics should not influence trade

KABUL (Pajhwok): Politics should not influence trade relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan and creating a gap between the two nations will cause economic harm to both sides, a senior Afghan official told Pakistani businessmen.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock said in a statement that Deputy Minister Maulvi Sadri Azam Osmani met and held talks with a number of Pakistani businessmen on the sidelines of the Iran Expo.

The two sides discussed trade and economic cooperation, industrial agriculture, investment in agricultural products, and the development of the private sector.

Pakistani businessmen said about 80 percent of trade between Afghanistan and Pakistan was related to agricultural and livestock products. They welcomed the reduction in corruption at ports between the two countries, and called for the early resolution of remaining problems and the establishment of common markets.

Osmani stressed that politics should be kept separate from trade and economics, and that creating a gap between the two countries would cause economic harm to both sides.

He added each country could be a suitable market for the other's agricultural products.

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