The Pak-Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Gwadar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in a meeting, reached an agreement to use the Gwadar Port for the Afghan transit trade. The chambers also agreed to take steps to increase trade between the two countries.
A delegation of the Pak-Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PACCI) and the business community of Karachi led by the president of the chamber, Mr. Javed Barwani, and Zubair Motiwala, visited Gwadar. Former Presidents of the Gwadar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) were also present in the meeting.
In a meeting held at the office of Gwadar Development Authority (GDA), where the delegation was briefed about the utilization of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and the Gwadar Port. The agenda of the meeting was to ensure Gwadar’s place as an economic hub and a platform to bolster trade between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Read more: Emerging challenges and opportunities for Gwadar and CPEC
The discussion generated tremendous interest from the business community, interested in promoting trade through the Gwadar port. Junaid Makda, former president of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was also present in the meeting. The meeting reached an agreement that steps to promote trade and transform Gwadar into an economic hub would be taken in consultation with the concerned authorities and the relevant stakeholders.
The first transit consignment of bulk cargo through Gwadar to Afghanistan started in 2020. In April 2020, to help Kabul maintain food supply during the spread of the Covid 19 pandemic, Pakistan had allowed the import of bulk shipments of food items through Gwadar. With an approximately 600-kilometer coastline, the deep seaport currently operated by China provides direct access to China to the Indian Ocean and opens up Pakistan as a major trading hub for the Central Asian countries.
We are pleased to share that the first shipment of 18 MT of Halal meat from 🇵🇰 has been dispatched from Karachi to Tashkent 🇺🇿 (Uzbekistan). It would reach Tashkent within a week.
MOC’s Silk Route Reconnect policy for Central Asia Republics (CARs) & beyond is now bearing 1/2— Abdul Razak Dawood (@razak_dawood) March 10, 2022
After initiating the Silk Route Reconnect Policy, Pakistan signed transit trade agreements with Uzbekistan and Afghanistan. As a result, trade between the countries witnessed exponential growth. Under the agreement, Pakistan gained access to a $90 billion market in Central Asia, Uzbekistan gained access to the Gwadar deep seaport, and Afghanistan generated a handsome
Transit Trade Agreements
Adviser to Prime Minister of Pakistan for Commerce and Investment, Abdul Razak Dawood, on March 11, met the Kazakh Ambassador, Yerzhan Kistafinin, to discuss customs cooperation, transit trade, and preferential trade agreements. After meeting with the Kazakh Ambassador, the adviser notified that the Kazakh Ambassadors was fully committed to support the “Silk Route Reconnect” initiative and said that the Ambassador gave him his “full support”. In a tweet, Razak Dawood further mentioned that a meeting with his Kazakh counterpart would follow this meeting.
Read more: Pakistan-Uzbekistan Transit Trade Agreement becomes operational