Overview
- Officials in the India-Afghanistan Joint Working Group held a virtual meeting on Tuesday, September 1, and agreed on concrete follow-up actions to speed up trade facilitation and institutional cooperation.
- Both sides committed to strengthen customs procedures and data sharing to cut clearance times and reduce paperwork for cross‑border shipments.
- India and Afghanistan agreed to deepen regulatory coordination in pharmaceuticals and agriculture so medicines and farm goods can move faster and meet shared standards.
- The talks included visa facilitation for Afghan traders and steps to improve banking and payment links to make transactions and business visits easier.
- With overland transhipment through Pakistan blocked, the meeting stressed port and cargo connectivity by using routes such as Iran’s Chabahar port and signalled sustained engagement to turn earlier commitments into on‑the‑ground trade flows.