LAHORE: Pakistan and Afghanistan are not only good neighbors but also members of SAARC and OIC. Pakistan is central to Afghanistan’s progress and prosperity and taking a number of measures to this regard. There have been many testing time in history but Pakistan always stood with Afghani brothers.
This was stated by the LCCI President Ijaz A. Mumtaz while talking to a delegation of Afghan Journalists here at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry on Saturday. LCCI Senior Vice President Mian Nauman Kabir, Vice President Syed Mahmood Ghaznavi, former Vice President Aftab Ahmed Vohra, Akber Sheikh and Tahir Mehmood also spoke on the occasion.
The LCCI President said that Pakistan and Afghanistan have seen many ups and downs in their official relationship but relations at the mass level have always remained warm and strong. He said that Pakistan wants to see Afghanistan a peaceful country.
He said that Afghanistan is one of the major trading partners of Pakistan. It has been top exporting market for Pakistani products since ages.
Ijaz A. Mumtaz informed the visiting delegation that the potential for trade between the two countries is unlimited. In recent years trade with Afghanistan has moved from informal to formal sector. In 2000-01 the formal exports to Afghanistan stood at $140 million that grew after a decade to $2.33 billion in 2010-11. We were expecting the bilateral trade to touch $5 billion in 2014-15 but global slowdown has kept the trade at little higher than 2011-11 level. Still after United States, European Union and China your country is the fourth largest export market for Pakistan.
He said that that Afghanistan is the only country that has been allowed to export its goods through Wagah to India.
He said that Afghanistan had huge untapped natural resources and a joint venture between businessmen of Pakistan and Afghanistan could pave way for a win-win situation.
The LCCI President said that it was encouraging to see upward trend in imports from Afghanistan but we must endeavour to open up new avenues for increasing formal channel of trade.
Ijaz A. Mumtaz said that smuggling has been one of the long standing issues between two countries. Through plugging smuggling points, we can create opportunity for both the governments to earn greater national exchequer in the form of taxes and duties.
He said that Pakistan’s exports to Afghanistan are wheat, sucrose, soap, tea, footwear, carpets, paper & paperboard, pharmaceutical goods etc. Major imports from Afghanistan to Pakistan are carpets, textile floor covering (knotted), seeds of anise, guts/bladders/stomachs of animals etc.
He stressed the need to diversify trade patterns for the sake of bringing some innovation.
The LCCI President said that exchanges of businessmen delegations can produce better results in improving the trade links between two countries.
He said there is a dire need to develop deeper ties between the respective Chambers of Commerce & Industry so that people to people contacts could be built up further.
