The government is prioritising enhancement of regional trade and connectivity in a bid to link the entire region through improvement in Pakistan-Afghanistan transit trade, said Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood.
Speaking at a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Commerce on Monday, Dawood reaffirmed the leadership’s commitment to enhancing trade and economic ties with Afghanistan for increasing regional integration.
“Government wants to resolve all trade issues with Afghanistan to formalise bilateral trade between the two countries,” he said.
During the meeting, the Ministry of Commerce briefed the committee on the current state of trade between Afghanistan and Pakistan while revision in the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) 2010 was also discussed.
The committee reviewed the institutional arrangements, challenges and issues present in transit trade with Afghanistan. Participants were informed that the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Coordination Authority (APTTCA) was established to monitor effective implementation of the agreement.
The ministry added that one of the discouraging factors in transit trade was high terminal charges at Pakistani ports keeping in view the handling and storage charges as well as free days allowed.
“Major reasons behind the high port charges in Pakistan are uncompetitive environment, non-utilisation of Gwadar Port and lack of a regulatory mechanism to regulate terminal operators and shipping lines,” it said.
The ministry underlined that it was addressing issues such as permits, delay in clearance of goods, difficulty in registration of goods’ documents, insufficient space for clearance and handling of goods and other related problems. Committee Chairman MNA Naveed Qamar directed the Ministry of Commerce to add proposals of committee members to the exchange document.
He demanded that the Ministry of Commerce draft the next agreement in a comprehensive manner and stressed that Pakistani exporters should be facilitated on priority. The committee expressed its displeasure over the absence of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman in all the three meetings on transit trade.
Separately, Dawood chaired fourth meeting of the Steering Committee on Pakistan Regulatory Modernisation Initiative (PRMI) at the Board of Investment (BOI) on Monday. He appreciated the progress made by BOI in provinces and regions regarding the initiative.
Highlighting the role of business community in regulatory reforms, he requested businessmen and chambers of commerce to work in close liaison with BOI and provincial governments in order to play their due role in regulatory modernisation in the country.
“With regulatory modernisation, business activities will be simplified, resulting in inflow of investment, uptick in growth and creation of employment opportunities,” the adviser said. BOI Secretary Fareena Mazhar stated that federal and provincial governments were determined to improve business environment in the country.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 20th, 2020.
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