-Two shipments of Chinese aid handed over to Afghan authorities
KABUL/BEIJING: In a meeting with the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Amir Khan Muttaqi, the ambassador of China, Wang Yu, expressed China’s readiness to facilitate visas for Afghan businesspeople in Afghanistan, MoFA announced
Abdul Qahar Balkhi, a spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that Muttaqi urged Beijing to address the problems of the Afghan traders in issuing visas.
Following the outbreak of Covid-19 and political changes in Afghanistan, China stopped issuing visas for Afghan traders. “The two sides agreed to accelerate the transportation of pine nuts,” he said.
“Lack of visas is a big and serious problem for businessmen and the private sector, especially with China because we import goods as well as raw materials for our factories,” said Khairullah Khairkhwa, the head of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Investment (ACCI).
The ACCI said that Afghanistan is the only country in the region whose traders lack access to China’s visas. “Lack of visas is a big problem. We ordered a type of material but then received another material,” said Mohammad Younus, the acting head of ACCI.
Meanwhile, the Afghanistan Chamber of Industry and Mines said that Afghan industrial owners are facing many challenges in imports due to a lack of visas for China.
Meanwhile, 2 shipments of earthquake relief supplies donated by the Chinese government including tents, folding beds and blankets have arrived in Afghanistan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian confirmed on Tuesday.
Observers said China can share experiences with Afghanistan in raising the capacity for emergency rescue and relief, and the region can also consider building multilateral or bilateral mechanism to deal with the possible emergencies over the long term.
China will continue to monitor the disaster and post-disaster reconstruction in Afghanistan, and is willing to provide more support based on the needs of Afghan people, Zhao said on Tuesday’s press briefing. Two PLA Y-20 cargo planes arrived at Kabul International Airport in Afghanistan on Tuesday morning, carrying with them disaster relief supplies provided by China including tents, towel blankets, folding beds and other items, urgently needed by the Afghan people after a deadly earthquake, China Central Television reported on Tuesday.
The previous day, the first shipment of disaster relief supplies provided by China arrived at Kabul airport, after which six more Chinese cargo planes will deliver disaster relief supplies over the following three days, according to the Chinese Embassy in Afghanistan on Tuesday. –Agencies
