Afghanistan, Iran and Russia: ECC approves draft SRO to amend B2B barter trade rules

ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet on Thursday approved a draft Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO), aimed at amending the Business-to-Business (B2B) Barter Trade Mechanism governing bilateral trade with Afghanistan, Iran and Russia.

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue, Muhammad Aurangzeb, chaired a meeting of the ECC of the Cabinet and considered and approved a draft SRO as proposed by the Ministry of Commerce. The SRO is aimed at amending the B2B Barter Trade Mechanism governing bilateral trade with Afghanistan, Iran, and Russia.

The ECC considered a summary submitted by the Ministry of Defence and Narcotics Control regarding financial support in the form of a Technical Supplementary Grant (TSG) to Roosevelt Hotel, New York, following the termination of its Lease Agreement with New York City.

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The Committee expressed support for addressing the most urgent financial requirements of the hotel and directed the Ministry to revisit and reconfirm its estimates and resubmit the matter to the ECC.

The Committee also discussed a summary from the Ministry of Defence regarding the provision of funds for payment of cash compensation to residents of land acquired for the construction of the Defence Complex in Islamabad. The ECC approved a TSG of Rs. 4 billion to be arranged by the Finance Division, while the balance requirement is to be met by the Capital Development Authority (CDA).

The ECC further considered a proposal by the Ministry of Interior and Narcotics Control for allocation of Rs. 20 billion as TSG for maintenance of law and order.

The Committee accorded approval to the proposal, with funds to be released on demand and in a phased manner by the Finance Division in consultation with the Interior Division. Additionally, the ECC approved another TSG of Rs. 174.8 million for the Interior Division for law and enforcement efforts by the HQ Frontier Corps KP (N) Peshawar.

The meeting was attended by Federal Minister for Petroleum Ali Pervaiz Malik, Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan, Federal Minister for Investment Board Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Privatisation and Chairman of the Privatisation Commission Muhammad Ali, federal secretaries, and senior officials from concerned ministries and regulatory bodies.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025