By Neelapu Shanti
India-Afghanistan air freight corridor programme has taken giant leap in formulating enhanced economic ties and pins hope towards progression which was a colossal challenge for land locked Afghanistan.
The air freight programme between Kabul-New Delhi started in June 2016 and the success followed the initiation of the Kabul-Mumbai flight in January this year. With the increasing frequency of India-Afghanistan air corridor programme flight which has touched to 59thnowreflects a positive overview of broader economic dimension between the two nations. Since the inception of the programme, Afghanistan has exported 1773 metric tons of goods to India.
The air corridor programme gives a ray of hope for a developed perspective and is also incentivizing the economic sphere of Afghanistan. India-Afghanistan two air routes, Kabul-Mumbai and Kabul-New Delhi have raised lot of trade aspirations and the success will reap to create trading link with other regions of India with Afghanistan.Looking at the progressive trading through air corridor programme between India and Afghanistan it is evident that in future both the countries can take economic ties to new highs and more importantly when Afghanistan has a prominent market in for goods including dry fruits, fresh fruits, carpets, natural resources for medicines, saffron, semi-precious stones. Afghanistan’s biggest hurdle of regional connectivity has obstructed the country in trading with the regional countries.
With the successive of the two trade links,expectedlyKandahar-Amritsar,Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif and Jalalabad will be initialized in near future. Chabahar port will be another pillar of strength for Afghanistan’s regional connectivity which will be bridging the gap of connecting Central Asia, South Asian and other regions of the world.
Overall,the air corridor programme is making major stride and playing a significant role in contributing forsustainable domestic economic development in Afghanistan. On the other hand it is not only the expansion in trade but will boost the socio-economic development, increase the capacities of the country’s businesses, attract greater investment, and improve the circumstances of Afghan women and youth – all priorities established by the government.
