Less Than Six Months After Launch, India-Afghanistan Air Corridor Has Become A Trade Highway

Since it’s inauguration in June, the Indo-Afghan air corridor has proved to a be a lifeline for war-torn Afghanistan’s exports. A total of 1,419 tonnes of fresh and dry fruits have been exported to India via 46 flights, with the flights continuing on a regular basis, as reported by DD News.

The air-corridor was envisioned by the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to bypass Pakistan. While Islamabad lets Afghan traders send their goods to India via the Wagah-Attari border crossing, it does not allow Indian businessmen to use the land route.

In addition to the air route, India has also operationalised the land route to Afghanistan, via the Chabahar port in Iran, bypassing Pakistan. The first wheat consignment to Afghanistan from India reached Afghanistan earlier this month (November 11) via the strategic Iranian port .

Trade with Afghanistan and Iran is of strategic importance to India as it seeks a positive role in the rebuilding Afghanistan, and is expectedly opposed by Pakistan. Indian efforts have found resonance with US President’s Donald Trump’s new South Asia policy though, which seeks greater Indian involvement in stabilising Afghanistan. China, with it’s deep-seated interests in Pakistan, however, has been critical of the air corridor in the past. The success of these projects demonstrates India’s commitment to the support the Afghan economy and the Afghan people.

As trade between Afghanistan and India grows, the Afghanistan government is also planning to step up the exports to other countries, like the UAE via similar corridors. The efforts saw two flights between Kandahar and Dubai in a sign of maturing exports for Afghanistan.