Commerce ministers of Pakistan and Afghanistan are holding a one on one meeting on Tuesday (today) in Dubai on the sidelines of Pakistan Afghanistan Summit to be monitored by the Americans and Europeans, well informed sources told Business Recorder.
The sources said Commerce Minister, Makhdoom Amin Fahim will discuss the hurdles in implementation of Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA), supported by US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. It will be a trilateral meeting ie between the United States, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
It was scheduled to be held in Kabul but due to law and order situation its location has been shifted from Kabul to Dubai. Recently, Foreign Office Spokesperson said a trilateral meeting of senior officials of Pakistan, Afghanistan and the US will he held early next week in Kabul to discuss security situation in Afghanistan. Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir will lead Pakistani delegation in the meeting.
Both the commerce ministers will address the inaugural session of the Summit. Top officials of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Additional Secretary BoI, Rai Sikandar, President, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Senator Haji Ghulam Ali, Secretary Ministry of Science and Technology, Saeed Muhammad Khan are scheduled to participate in the Summit.
The sources said representation from private sectors of both the countries will hold separate meetings to explore avenues of further co-operation in trade and investment. "Both countries will discuss projects which can be beneficial for both Pakistan and Afghanistan," the sources said. BoI will give a detailed presentation on the investment opportunities along with the issues which are hindering investment in Pakistan.
Commerce Secretary, Zafar Mahmood is also scheduled to be in Kabul in the first week of June to discuss impediments in APTTA. Recently, Commerce Secretary expressed the hope that APTTA will be operational from June 12, 2011, however, officials in the Commerce Ministry are telling a different story.
According to the Secretary Commerce, both countries have resolved the issue of financial guarantee and its approval would be sought from Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Trade Co-ordination Authority in its meeting scheduled in Kabul on June 2, 2011.
He further argued that Kabul has agreed that the bank guarantee equivalent to amount of customs duty applicable on goods imported under APTTA for Afghanistan through Pakistani land route would not be implemented. Commerce Ministry officials, including Joint Secretary, Hamayat Ullah Khan, maintain that a number of issues are still unresolved. When contacted Commerce Secretary said he was not sure that the APTTA would be operational from June 12, 2011 but expressed the hope that it might be.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.