KABUL - Kabul on Sunday signed a cooperation agreement on trade with Washington, officials said, hoping Afghanistan would be granted membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the next three months. The agreement was signed in Kabul between Afghan Deputy Commerce Minister Mozamil Shinwari and US Deputy Assistant Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Mara M. Burr.

Burr called the agreement a key step forward in enabling Afghanistan to achieve WTO membership.

To become a member of the WTO family, she said Afghanistan needed to sign such agreements with eight more member countries and pass law and provisions on international trade.

She said Afghanistan had reached such accords with Canada, Japan, Norway, Taiwan, and Thailand and would sign similar deals soon with the European Union and Turkey.

With a WTO membership, Afghanistan can resolve its transit trade problems, including those faced by Afghan traders in Pakistan in exporting goods to India through Wagah border.

Burr said they were in close contact with Afghan officials to help Afghanistan become a member of the WTO over the next three months.

She said signing the deal with Afghanistan would help strength commerce relations between the two nations and called on investors to benefit from the opportunity. (Pajhwok)