Afghan transit trade: Insurance guarantee suspension extended for 30 days
Pakistan, Afghanistan abolish insurance condition for export of goods to Central Asia and India.
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to extend by one month the suspension of insurance guarantee for imported goods being transported via Pakistan to Afghanistan and have also scrapped insurance condition for goods being exported under the new Afghan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement.
A senior official of the Ministry of Finance told The Express Tribune that an agreement to this effect was reached in a meeting of the Pak-Afghan Joint Economic Commission here on Thursday.
In the talks, Pakistan side was led by Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh while Afghan delegation was headed by Commerce Minister Anwarul Haq Al Ahadi. Representatives of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Customs and commerce ministry took part in the deliberations.
According to the finance ministry official, the suspension of insurance guarantee for transit cargo for another one month is aimed at giving sufficient time to Pakistan’s insurance companies to make arrangements for insuring the import cargo and transport vehicles in order to ensure that the consignments reach their destinations and do not disappear during transit. Earlier, a two-month suspension of the condition was agreed between the two sides to give a kick-start to the new transit trade agreement, which had failed to take off due to reluctance of insurance firms to provide guarantees.
The new agreement replaces the previous decades-old accord, aimed at controlling widespread smuggling of goods and commodities, which were meant for Afghanistan but found their way into Pakistani markets.
According to the ministry official, Pakistan and Afghanistan have also agreed to slash the insurance limit for Afghan trucks entering Pakistan to lift cargo from ports, from 25 per cent value of the trucks to 10 per cent.
Another major agreement that was reached between the two sides was the scrapping of the condition of insurance guarantees for goods to be exported from Pakistan to the central Asian states via Afghanistan and goods to be shipped by Kabul to India and other countries via Pakistan.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 9th, 2011.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to extend by one month the suspension of insurance guarantee for imported goods being transported via Pakistan to Afghanistan and have also scrapped insurance condition for goods being exported under the new Afghan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement.
A senior official of the Ministry of Finance told The Express Tribune that an agreement to this effect was reached in a meeting of the Pak-Afghan Joint Economic Commission here on Thursday.
In the talks, Pakistan side was led by Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh while Afghan delegation was headed by Commerce Minister Anwarul Haq Al Ahadi. Representatives of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Customs and commerce ministry took part in the deliberations.
According to the finance ministry official, the suspension of insurance guarantee for transit cargo for another one month is aimed at giving sufficient time to Pakistan’s insurance companies to make arrangements for insuring the import cargo and transport vehicles in order to ensure that the consignments reach their destinations and do not disappear during transit. Earlier, a two-month suspension of the condition was agreed between the two sides to give a kick-start to the new transit trade agreement, which had failed to take off due to reluctance of insurance firms to provide guarantees.
The new agreement replaces the previous decades-old accord, aimed at controlling widespread smuggling of goods and commodities, which were meant for Afghanistan but found their way into Pakistani markets.
According to the ministry official, Pakistan and Afghanistan have also agreed to slash the insurance limit for Afghan trucks entering Pakistan to lift cargo from ports, from 25 per cent value of the trucks to 10 per cent.
Another major agreement that was reached between the two sides was the scrapping of the condition of insurance guarantees for goods to be exported from Pakistan to the central Asian states via Afghanistan and goods to be shipped by Kabul to India and other countries via Pakistan.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 9th, 2011.