INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:

Dozens of cargo trucks left Afghanistan on Monday in what marked the first consignment of exports to Europe since the Islamic Emirate took

over the country in August last year.The convoy left from the western province of Herat and will travel through the Lapis Lazuli route, an

international trade route that was inaugurated in 2018.The shipment involves nearly 30 trucks carrying commodities such as pistachios,

sesame, cumin, carpets and almonds, said Yonus Qazizada, the provincial director of trade and investment in Herat.He said that the

commodities worth $5 million are bound for European and Arab countries.The Lapis Lazuli corridor begins from Torghundi in Herat and

continues to Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey.This is the second Afghan convoy of exports through Lapis Lazuli since the

corridor was inaugured in December 2018.The first convoy carried dried fruits, herbs and textiles.Meanwhile, the union of exporters in the

western zone said exports increased by 40 percent in 1400 solar year as compared to the previous year.This suggests that expectations have

grown and economic activities have increased

Unlike the propaganda that is spread, it is a great achievement to dispatch a convoy abroad,& said Mohammad Rafiq Shahir, head of the

experts& council of Herat.The post Afghanistan exports goods to Europe for first time since IEA takeover first appeared on Ariana News.