Delhi, Kabul to launch air cargo services

NEW DELHI:

Air cargo services between India and Afghanistan will be launched soon, an Indian foreign ministry official said on Friday, as the two countries seek to reset ties amid soured relations with common neighbour Pakistan.

The announcement came during a visit to New Delhi by Afghanistan’s Taliban Trade Minister Nooruddin Azizi, who has urged India to boost trade and open cargo hubs as Kabul seeks access to grains, medicines and industrial goods following the closure of its border with Pakistan after military clashes.

Kabul’s air freight corridors with Delhi and the northern Indian city of Amritsar have been “activated”, and cargo flights will operate on the sectors “very soon”, said Anand Prakash, a joint secretary in the Indian foreign ministry.

“All formalities from our side are over. We are waiting for all the papers from their (Afghan) side ... Once they complete them, the cargo flights will start,” Prakash told Reuters on the sidelines of an India-Afghanistan business conference.