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COMMERCE During the fourth year of the Plan, the Ministry of Commerce took a number of steps to boost internal and foreign trade, regulate the supply markets, compile statistics for export import trade and compile charts to show market fluctuations. The Ministry has also made considerable efforts to strengthen trade relations between Afghanistan and other countries and find new markets for Afghan merchandise, concentrating specially on neighbouring countries. To achieve this, the Ministry has entered into new agreements and renewed old ones with a number of countries, sent delegates and Afghan goods to international trade fairs, participated in international conferences on economic and commercial affairs, and invited delegations to Kabul from other countries to discuss trade. On the 13th of December, 1959, an agreement on trade and scientific and technical co-operation was signed between the Royal Afghan Government and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia which established for the first time trade rela- tions and technical co-operation between the two countries. The Trade and Payments Agreement was signed between Afghanistan and the United Arab Republic, on the 19th of April, 1960. An Afghan delegation in Prague signed a protocol for the renewal of the fifth term of the exchange of goods and payments between the two countries on the 9th February, 1960. On February 29th, 1960, an Afghan delegation signed a protocol on the fourth term of the Agreement on the Exchange of Goods and Prices between the Royal Government of Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Poland in Warsaw. On the 4th of February, 1960, the protocol of the ninth term of the trade agreement between Afghanistan and the Soviet Union was signed by Mr. Sherzad, the Afghan Minister of Commerce and Mr. Kozinyn, the Soviet Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade. The Ministry of Commerce participated in the International Conference on Improving Trade in South East Asia and the Far East which was convened in Mr. Suleiman, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan and Dr. Kreutel, Chargé d'Affaires for Austria, signing the Protocol of the Air Agreement between Afghanistan and Austria. Mr. Sherzad and Mr. Kuzmin signing the Afghan/Soviet Trade Protocol. 47