ISLAMABAD: The Commerce Ministry is following three-pronged policy of trade, investment and connectivity to enhance regional trade.
“In this regard, the ministry is focusing on provision of maximum facilities to the foreign exporters and importers at almost all airports, dry ports as well as seaports” a source in the ministry told Customs Today.
He added that the ministry had initiated a project to upgrade the border posts of Torkham and Chaman and equip them with latest technology of communication and facilitation.
“To achieve maximised volume of trade as well as transit trade the ministry is making all out efforts to provide facilitations of international standards to the foreign traders either willing to import Pakistani goods or taking their goods through transit trade via Pakistan,” he claimed.
When asked about objectives of provision of facilities to transit goods, he said that Pakistan earned high valued foreign exchange as a result of transit fee from international cargo shipments as well as under the international trade agreements; UN and WTO charters the every country was bound to provide facilities against transit fee.
The source added that the ministry eyed reciprocal attitude from neighbouring countries, especially Afghanistan regarding provision of transit facilities along with full security from warlords and extortionists for Pakistani trade goods bound for Central Asia, republics and beyond.
“Regional trade bloc can only be formed with enhanced trade among neighbouring countries by taking adequate measures for speedy and efficient transport of goods between and across the two countries, information sharing between the customs of the two countries, enhance trade fairs, curb illicit trade, seven-day operations at the border posts and easy access of the transportation trucks of one country to the far off areas of the other country,” he observed.
However, the source said that it was quite unfortunate that during meetings officials and political leaders of neighbouring countries used to make tall claims to take measures to enhance regional trade and to evolve mechanism to check the progress of development on various issues by holding meetings regularly, but no progress was made after the conclusion of meetings, seminars, conferences and summits.
