Afghanistan chambers ask UNAMA to help ease export barriers
The Afghanistan Chamber of Industries and Mines has called on UNAMA to help reduce export difficulties, urging the removal of obstacles facing producers and exporters during a meeting with the mission’s political and economic representative.
At the meeting, held on Tuesday between Danai Bogas, UNAMA’s political and economic representative, and Ahmad Nabi Zada, head of the Afghanistan Chamber of Industries and Mines, the two sides discussed strengthening private sector activity, access to banking services, e-commerce, and the process of certifying and standardising Afghanistan’s exports.
Officials from the chamber, citing the challenges facing producers and exporters, called for cooperation in establishing export standardisation laboratories in Kabul and the provinces. According to them, these laboratories could make it possible for Afghan products to obtain internationally recognised certificates and make it easier for Afghan goods to enter global markets.
UNAMA was also asked at the meeting to help speed up the scanning and inspection of export goods at airports, a move that chamber officials said could prevent delays, damage to goods, and higher costs for exporters.
Danai Bogas praised the work of Afghanistan’s private sector and said it had played an important role in sustaining the country’s economic activity under difficult conditions. He also stressed UNAMA’s readiness to help follow up on the private sector’s problems and proposals, saying the mission wants to further strengthen its cooperation and relations with Afghanistan’s private sector and relay their demands to relevant international institutions.
At the end of the meeting, both sides emphasised the continuation of contacts and bilateral cooperation between UNAMA and Afghanistan’s private sector. UNAMA is the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, part of whose work focuses on coordination with domestic institutions and on political, economic and humanitarian issues.
