Afghanistan seeks deeper trade ties with India, pitches for easier business access
Afghanistan's Chamber of Commerce and Investment is seeking to strengthen trade ties with India to bypass declining transit trade with Pakistan. The proposal includes requests for easier business visa access and improved logistics infrastructure.
Why it matters
This reflects shifting geopolitical trade alliances in Central and South Asia as nations seek alternative routes for economic stability.
Afghanistan's top trading body has called for expanding trade and investment ties with India, stressing the need to ease business procedures, remove administrative barriers and facilitate the issuance of business visas.
The proposals were discussed in Kabul during a meeting between Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI) Chairman Sayed Karim Hashemi and Indian Ambassador to Afghanistan Yatin Patel.
The two sides held talks “in the framework of a strategic and diplomatic dialogue”, according to a statement released by the trading body on Saturday (July 18, 2026).
The meeting comes amid a sharp decline in Afghanistan's transit trade with neighbouring Pakistan, which fell to $367 million in FY26 from about $5 billion in FY21, as Kabul increasingly shifted to alternative trade routes, including through Iran.
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