PESHAWAR, May 8: Speakers at a seminar held here on Wednesday said that the friendly ties between Afghanistan and Pakistan could enable trade and business circles to exploit natural resources of the two countries for the collective benefit of people living on both sides of the border.

The seminar was jointly organized by the Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) as part of a three-day exhibition entitled “Rebuild Afghanistan Trader Fair 2003” which commenced here on Tuesday.

“Kabul and Islamabad should strengthen their ties to help their trade and business circles to take benefit of the natural resource bestowed upon them and the Central Asian Region (CAR),” said Rehmatullah Musa Ghazi, Afghanistan’s deputy ambassador to Pakistan during his speech.

Afghanistan, Pakistan and CARs, he added, were rich in natural resources and the only thing they needed was their proper and effective utilization by the trade and business circles.

Several stalls displaying a large variety of locally manufactured items and products manufactured in other parts of Pakistan have been setup at the three day exhibition to attract Afghan investors and help trade and business circles of the two countries to establish and strengthen their business relationship.

The Afghan diplomat expressed the hope that the seminar and exhibition would go a long way in promoting brotherly and trade relations between the two neighbouring countries.

On this occasion, he also felicitated the co-host, the SCCI and EPB, for arranging the event at a time when the rebuilding process had been set in place in Afghanistan.

He said Afghan traders and businessmen would always prefer to do business with their counterparts in the NWFP, particularly in Peshawar, in view of the similarities these areas shared with Afghanistan.

He urged the business community of the two countries to cement their ties so that the countries could benefit from each other.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Shuja-u-dawlla, President Kabul Chamber of Commerce (KCC) expressed the hope that the event would help increase economic activity in the two countries and expressed the hope that such events would be held in future as well.

He announced that Kabul would also hold a trade fair in September 2003.

“Both countries have common religion and culture and have been enjoying friendly relations with each other,” said Mr Shuja, adding that such initiatives would help the governments of the two countries to resolve their impending issues amicably.

He said that the Afghan transitional government led by Hamid Karzai was taking measures to encourage foreign investment. In this respect, he also, invited Pakistani investors to explore the possibility of investing in Afghanistan.