Taliban has taken over Afghanistan. This will have a direct impact on the trade between India and Afghanistan. The main reason for this is that the Indian government does not recognize the Taliban. Whereas India had good relations with the Government of Afghanistan. India is the largest market for Afghan products in South Asia. India has invested about $3 billion (Rs 22,251 crore) in Afghanistan.
Bilateral trade takes place between India and Afghanistan. In the financial year 2020-21, there has been a trade of $ 1.4 billion, i.e. Rs 10,387 crore between the two countries. Similarly, in 2019-20, there was a trade of $ 1.5 billion (Rs 11,131 crore) between the two countries. In 2020-21, India exported products worth about Rs 6,129 crore to Afghanistan, while India imported products worth Rs 37,83 crore.
India imports nuts like raisins, walnuts, almonds, figs, pistachios, dried apricots from Afghanistan. Apart from this, it also imports pomegranate, apple, cherry, cantaloupe, watermelon, asafoetida, cumin and saffron.
India sends goods made from wheat, coffee, cardamom, black pepper, tobacco, coconut and coconut jute to Afghanistan. Apart from this, it exports clothes, confectionery items, fish products, vegetable ghee, vegetable oil. It also sends other products including plants, chemical products and soaps, drugs, medicines and antibiotics, engineering goods, electrical goods, rubber products, military equipment.
Ajay Bagga, knowing about foreign affairs, said that during the era of the Taliban, the relationship will not be the same. India's trade with Afghanistan was one-way. India developed in Afghanistan, but now Afghanistan has gone to China's axis. Due to which there is little hope of trade with Afghanistan now. Trade with Afghanistan is almost over. India also imports dry fruits from California, but this year also there are some problems due to which the prices of dry fruits will increase further.
India has invested about 22 thousand 251 crore rupees in Afghanistan in the last 20 years. India's strategy behind this was that Chabahar Port in Iran would be connected to Afghanistan through road. The work of the road project from Chabahar port in Iran to Delaram in Afghanistan is also going on. This will facilitate India's access to Central Europe via Afghanistan.
Through this route, India will also be able to do business with Central Europe, but now this plan seems to be going downhill. During the last two decades, India has done a lot for the development of Afghanistan. India has built a 218 km long road between Delaram and Zaranj Salma Dam here. Apart from this, the Parliament of Afghanistan has also been built by India.
Afghanistan is surrounded by land on all sides. That is, it has no maritime boundary. It exports to India through the Wagah border via Pakistan. Along with this, now it has also started exporting through the Chabahar port of Iran. India is also supplied especially dry fruits by air. Dried fruits account for a significant share of India's exports from Afghanistan.
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