Staff Reporter
Islamabad
National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaisar Wednesday asked the Afghan investors to become part of China Pakistan Economic Corridor, besides investing in Rashakai Special Economic Zone to usher its benefits.
The early conclusion of Trade Agreements between Pakistan and Afghanistan would not only boost economic activity on both sides, but eventually help fighting the scourges of poverty and instability, the speaker said in a meeting with Afghan Minister for Commerce and Industries Nisar Ahmad Ghoryani here. Asad Qaiser observed that Pakistan and Afghanistan are strategically significant trading partners however, trade between the two countries gradually declined due to trade barriers and lack of trade facilitation from either side.
He said that after eliminating trade barriers along with facilitating traders had not only enhanced the trade volume between Pakistan and Afghanistan but was also greatly contributing to poverty eradication and social uplift. He said that such initiatives will also increase employment opportunities for our people and decreasing Non-tariff barriers on both sides of the border will enhance mutual trade.
He informed that encouraging people to people contacts and trade facilitation through Pakistan-Afghanistan Parliamentary Friendship Group was a manifestation of our commitment to improving bilateral economic engagement with Afghanistan. The speaker said that early conclusion of negotiation of Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) and Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) would open new avenues of cooperation between both brotherly countries.
He stressed the need to inbuilt the elements in the trade agreements which are facilitative of Trade, adding that China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was a game changer not only for Pakistan but also the entire region. The speaker remarked that economic cooperation between Pakistan and Afghanistan and improved trade and transit facilities would help to connect Central Asia and beyond.
