DUSHANBE, August 5, 2009, Asia-Plus — Expansion of bilateral cooperation between chambers of commerce and industry (CCI) of Tajikistan and Afghanistan was the focus of a meeting of Tajik CCI head Sharif Said with his Afghan counterpart, Qurban Mohammad Haqjou, which was held in Dushanbe on August 4.
According to the CCI press service, during the meeting it was noted that construction of a series of bridges across the Panj River joining Tajikistan and Afghanistan had consolidated permanent overland links between the two countries, expanding commerce and trade within the region.
The sides, in particular noted that trade between the two countries have increased in recent years and a number of joint ventures have been launched.
According to data of the State Committee for Statistics, a two-way trade between Tajikistan and Afghanistan over the first half-year of 2009 has valued at some 40 million U.S. dollars, which is 24.2 percent fewer than in the same period of last year. This consisted of Tajikistan’s exports to Afghanistan estimated at little more than 16 million U.S. dollars and Tajikistan’s imports from Afghanistan worth some 23 million U.S. dollars.
