Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) President Sherbaz Bilour has proposed that the government should enter into free trade agreements (FTA) and preferential trade agreements (PTA) with the Central Asian states, which will boost the country’s exports.
Meeting with envoys of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan on Wednesday, he lamented that the trade volume between Pakistan and regional countries was at a low level, which needed to be enhanced.
“Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is a gateway for trade with Central Asian states,” Bilour said, adding that it was an opportunity to further strengthen economic ties with the regional countries.
He emphasised the need for drawing up a joint roadmap to remove all the hurdles impeding regional trade.
“No concrete efforts were made in the past for boosting trade with Central Asian states to improve the country’s exports,” he highlighted.
Bilour invited businessmen from both countries to make investment in the potential sectors of Pakistan.
He mentioned that Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, being landlocked countries, should utilise Karachi and Gwadar ports as a transit for trade with the world.
On the occasion, the two diplomats agreed to establish strong business linkages, exchange trade delegations, hold joint exhibitions as well as establish concrete mechanisms to remove hurdles hindering bilateral trade.
SCCI Senior Vice President Engineer Manzoor Elahi, SCCI Vice President Junaid Altaf and high officials from both embassies were also present in the meeting.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 23rd, 2021.
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