IRU membership not benefiting Afghanistran's trade

Despite being a member of the International Road and Transport Union (IRU) since the past 37 years, Afghanistan yet has to benefit from the organization due to the decades of conflict the country has been going through.

In 2010, IRU officials had said Afghan vehicles carrying commercial goods would be able to travel to Asian, African and European countries in seven months. However, the seven months is long gone and Afghan vehicles are only able to travel to its bordering country, Pakistan.

The official claim that Afghan vehicles did not meet international standards is rejected as untrue by Halim Yousaf, the chairman of Afghanistan Association of Freight Forwarders Companies. “We have some frims with vehicles that have better standards than those used in some regional countries,” said Mr. Yousaf.

Mr. Yousauf called for the government to make arrangements for Afghan truckers to reach both regional and neighboring countries.

The Ministry of Trasnport and Aviation spokesman, Nangyalai Qalatwal, said Afghanistan could not take benefit from IRU facilities because of the unsteady political situation in some neighboring countries.

The ministry had made efforts to pave the ground for Afghan vehicles to be able to enter regional, European and other countries, said Mr. Qalatwal.

Founded in Geneva in 1948, the International Road Transport Union (IRU) is the world road transport organisation, which upholds the interests of bus, coach, taxi and truck operators to ensure economic growth and prosperity via the sustainable mobility of people and goods by road worldwide.