Afghan CG agrees to formation of Pak-Afghan trade facilitation body

PESHAWAR: Consul General of Taliban government in Peshawar, Hafiz Mohib Ullah has agreed on the constitution of Pak-Afghan Trade Facilitation Committee, removal of obstacles in visa issuance and resolution of problems hampering bilateral trade.

This agreement was reached during a meeting of the Afghan Consul General with Vice President of Pak-Afghan Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PAJCCI), Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi, according to a press release issued here on Tuesday.

According to a press statement issued here on Monday, Zia-ul-Haq Sarhadi who is also former Senior Vice President of Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) called on an Afghan diplomat and apprised him about problems being faced by businessmen, exporters and dealers of Afghan Transit Trade.

On this occasion, Commercial Attaché, Waheedullah Himat, Deputy Attaché, Hameedullah Fazil, Transport Attaché, Ismail Shinwari and other officials were also present.

Zia ul Haq Sarhadi after discussing the problems faced by businessmen also presented some suggestions for solutions to it, the statement added. He laid stress on joint efforts from both sides in issues including lack of dollars in Afghan banks, documentation problems and other hurdles being faced on a daily basis by trading communities of both the countries. He also mentioned some problems in the Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) making the document redundant. He said 90 percent work has been done on the agreement while 10 percent is remaining.

Zia suggested involving stakeholders from both the countries for giving their input for making APTTA operational.

While paying tribute to the Taliban government, Zia ul Haq Sarhadi said they took a lot of measures which benefited businessmen of both the countries and by reducing toll collection rates promoted business.

There is an economic crisis in Afghanistan where banks are short of dollars as a result of which businessmen could not get Letter of Credit (LC) and other documents, Zia added. He opined that if the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) continues the facility of`E` form for Exporter and `I` Form for Importers which it provided till December 13, 2021 or allow barter trade till the time economic crisis in Afghanistan are over that will help a lot in resolution of problems of business community. VP PAJCCI also appreciated efforts made by Afghan Consul General in promotion of bilateral trade and held out assurance of full cooperation to him from businessmen.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022