Islamabad
A milestone has been achieved in Pakistan’s transit trade history as the first containerised shipment by trucks from Karachi under the Transport Internationaux Routier (TIR) Rules has cleared Torkham and is on its way to Uzbekistan.
Advisor to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood announced this in a tweet on Friday.
The adviser also said that the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) has been working to open up trade with Uzbekistan and beyond. He added that this is the beginning of a new era whereby there would be free movement of trucks among Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asian Republics (CARs).
Earlier in the day, the advisor attended a briefing on recent developments in the trade and connectivity of Pakistan with the neighbouring regions.
Speaking on the occasion, the advisor said that connectivity with trading partners is vital for viable trade relations.
He said that the structure and efficiency connectivity networks enable access to markets and should be considered a facet of the trade competitiveness.
Dawood said, “The long-term vision of the government for trade and economic relations with Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Central Asian Republics (CARs) is that we want to make Pakistan a hub for trade, transit & transshipment.”
He said that the trade must be based on secure, open, consistent, reliable and legal movement of goods at the Afghan border along with enhanced connectivity with Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and CARs..—TLTP
