Turkey-Afghanistan cargo air corridor opens

The first ever cargo air corridor between Afghanistan and Turkey was launched on 22 May at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul by officials from Afghanistan and Turkey.

The cargo air corridor was set up to boost economic cooperation and trade ties between the two countries, making it easier to export goods from Afghanistan to Turkey.

Afghanistan’s Minister of Industry and Commerce Humayoon Rasa, Minister of Agriculture Nasir Ahmad Durrani, Turkish Ambassador to Kabul Oguzhan Ertugrul, the Kabul manager of Turkish Airlines Ahmet

Uludag and Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries CEO Atiq Nasrat all attended the opening ceremony.

During the inauguration ceremony, Minister Rasa said that the first cargo shipment to Turkey totaled 15 tons of goods, including carpets and dried fruit, to a value of USD 103,000.

According to Rasa, so far Afghanistan has exported goods valued at more than USD 20 million through other air corridors that have opened in the past year. This includes two air corridors with India and one with Kazakhstan.

Rasa added that in the near future a new trade agreement will be signed with Turkey, which will further increase Afghanistan’s exports to Turkey.

The CEO for the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries welcomed the move and said that the Kabul-Istanbul air corridor will play an important role in increasing exports from Afghanistan.

During the occasion, the Turkish Ambassador to Kabul said that Turkey will also make more efforts to boost bilateral ties with Afghanistan.

Photo caption: Ribbon cutting by Afghan-Turkish government officials at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul to inaugurate the Kabul-Istanbul cargo air corridor.

TMP – 14/06/2018