Air cargo services between Kabul, Delhi to be launched soon

KABUL (Pajhwok): Air cargo services between India and Afghanistan will be launched soon, an Indian  Ministry of External Affairs’ official said on Friday.

The announcement came during a visit to New Delhi by Afghanistan’s Trade Minister Nooruddin Azizi, who has urged India to boost trade and open cargo hubs as Kabul seeks access to grains, medicines and industrial goods following the closure of its border with Pakistan after military clashes.

Kabul’s air freight corridors with Delhi and the northern Indian city of Amritsar have been “activated”, and cargo flights will operate on the sectors “very soon”, said Anand Prakash, a joint secretary in the Indian external affairs ministry.

“All formalities from our side are over. We are waiting for all the papers from their (Afghan) side … Once they complete them, the cargo flights will start,” Prakash told Reuters news agency on the sidelines of an India-Afghanistan business conference.

Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi visited New Delhi last month

The two countries have upgraded ties since, with India reopening its embassy in Kabul that was shut in 2021.

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