Afghan team discusses customs valuation, high transit fee

ISLAMABAD: A visiting Afghan delegation discussed the problems of customs valuation, bonded carriers, regulatory duty, high transit fee, quarantine, and visa issues faced by businessmen during their engagement with Pakistan.

Speaking at a round-table discussion on “Pak-Afghan Bilateral Trade and Future Developments” organised by Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), Islamabad, the delegates argued that such impediments also negatively impacted Pakistan’s trade figures. It forced Afghan traders to look for other options, where they were facilitated more in comparison to Pakistan, they added. Noor Agha Ebrahimee, heading the Afghan Delegation of Trade and Commerce, said lingual, cultural, and geographical proximities demand that Pakistani and Afghan businessmen and civil society join hands, while persuading officials from both sides to spur economic activity.

Earlier, the delegation met with the officials from Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to the delegates, Pakistani officials stated that the ministry was working to resolve the impediments from the Pakistani side. They also asked the Afghan delegation to propose some solid recommendations in this regard, so that tangible solutions could be sought as soon as possible.

Rizwana Asif, president, Islamabad Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IWCCI), invited Afghan businesswomen and traders to convene similar trade-related meetings. Khalid Stanikzai, managing director, Bright Business Complex, Kabul, also welcomed Pakistani investors to set-up factories or industries in Afghanistan on the basis of sole proprietorship or in partnership with Afghan businessmen.

He assured that Afghan trade groups, networks etc would take care and assist Pakistanis regarding legal issues on the Afghan soil. Irum Mumtaz, representing Rawalpindi Women Chambers and Commerce and Industry, said there was need for more networking, and information sharing to bridge the supply and demand side of the trade. “Afterwards, these networks can be consolidated across the border to build trust and improve bilateral trade relations,” she added.