By: ANI :
ISLAMABAD — Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif chaired an important meeting on facilitating trade and approved the establishment of a Trade Facilitation Board. The Prime Minister himself will chair the board.
The proposed board will work to improve the entire trade supply chain and take decisions on all non-tariff issues related to cross-border trade. It will also formulate a roadmap for trade promotion, develop a Trade Facilitation Index and devise a monitoring strategy.
The Prime Minister directed that urgent measures be taken to improve the operational capacity of the country’s ports and instructed the formation of various working groups.
The working groups will focus on enhancing port capacity, improving coordination among relevant departments, ensuring compliance with the regulatory framework, pre-arrival clearance and increasing the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises in international trade.
The Prime Minister also directed that maximum facilities be provided to importers and exporters at ports by simplifying cargo delivery, clearance and other related procedures.
The meeting was informed that port charges had been reduced under ongoing reforms, following which there had been a significant improvement in the utilisation of ports. The briefing also noted that the facility for submitting Goods Declarations before the arrival of vessels was continuously increasing.
Federal Minister for National Food Security Rana Tanveer Hussain, Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema, Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb, Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Junaid Anwar Chaudhry, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Industry Haroon Akhtar, Minister of State for Finance and Railways Bilal Azhar Kayani and relevant senior government officials attended the meeting.
