The Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Standing Committee held a joint meeting. The agenda for the meeting included removing barriers, and improving trade between Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Central African Republics.
Joint Meeting
Shahid Hussain, chairman of the committee and former senior Vice-President SCCI at Chamber house chaired the meeting.
Other members in attendance included, Manzoor Elahi, Ismail Khan, Ammar Ansari, Iqbal Yousuf along with representatives from importing and exporting companies.
Furthermore, issues impacting bilateral trade and transit between Pakistan and Afghanistan were brought up. One major concern raised, was the significant drop in the volume of bilateral trade between the two countries.
Consequently, possible solutions were also part of the discussion. One suggestion was improving trade infrastructure on both sides of the border. While addressing the issues, the chair also praised the efforts that the Pakistani and the Afghan governments have put into improving border management.
The SCCI also mentioned that with the help of customs authorities they were able to reduce duties on 53 exporting items. Additionally, they also managed to reduce taxes on certain import from Afghanistan.
Recommendations
Chairman emphasized that there is a dreadful need to improve and promote trade relations with CARs. He also suggested launching a joint venture to improve trade relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Where the two neighboring countries will have improved bilateral trade transit.
