Trade pacts being signed with Central Asian states: adviser

GUJRANWALA: The present government is taking effective and solid measures to promote regional trade, a senior government official said.

Talking to the business community at the Gujranwala Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood said that an agreement has been signed with Uzbekistan, while another would be signed with Tajikistan on September 17, adding that a new trade route has been opened from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to Moscow.

More new trade routes would be opened, he said, adding: “We will make new records regarding exports during the next year.”

Dawood said that a visit to Nigeria has been planned in November for trade and investment, adding that the National Export Development Board (NEDB) has been constituted under the chairmanship of the prime minister.

A meeting of the NEDB has been conducted and the engineering sector would be discussed in its next meeting, he said, adding that the duties on various items have been reduced, especially in the steel sector in the budget.

The pharmaceutical and textile sectors have been rectified and now attention would be paid to the steel sector, while a meeting was being called to resolve problems of the rice sector, as well.

Dawood said that commercial warehouses have been established where traders might place their items without paying duty, adding that there would be no Customs duty and sales tax on machinery.

The GCCI was playing an important role for progress and prosperity of the country, he said, and appreciated the efforts of the traders and businessmen to increase exports of the country.