LAHORE:Taking a giant leap towards promotion of trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Lahore Chamber
of Commerce & Industry here Wednesday signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pakistan Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce & Industry (PAJCCI) and Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce & Investment (ACCI).
LCCI President Mian Nauman Kabir, Chairman PAJCCI Zubair Motiwala, Co-President ACCI Khan Jan
Alokzai and Vice President Sultan M. Safi inked the MoU in the presence of LCCI Senior Vice President
Mian Rehman Aziz Chan and LCCI Executive Committee Members. Former FPCCI and LCCI President
Mian Anjum Nisar specially attended the meeting on a special request.
According to the MoU, LCCI, PAJCCI and ACCI would collaborate to develop a framework of cooperation
and undertake actions aimed at strengthening the bilateral trade and relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan. The LCCI nominee will become a member of PAJCCI and will act as a director on the
Advisory Board to facilitate the collaboration among the stakeholders.
PAJCCI Chairman Zubair Motiwala said that Afghanistan was a landlocked country and ‘we are bound
to give way to it in accordance with the international laws.’ He said that poverty in Afghanistan could
be alleviated through business, asserting that fiscal reforms were direly needed in Afghanistan.
Motiwala said that trade in local currencies was allowed but Exim Bank must be established at the
border to take the mutual trade further. He said the government should introduce a separate policy
for Afghan investors.
He further stated that a system of mediation and arbitration was very important. He also called for
exchange of trade delegation between the two countries and promotion of medical tourism. He urged
the businessmen of the two countries to step into joint ventures in various sectors of economy.
Co-President ACCI Khan Jan Alokzai and Vice President Sultan M. Safi said that export from Afghanistan
to India through Wagah Border had been allowed. He said that Afghanistan had given permission
to Pakistan to import gas from Central Asian States to Pakistan through Afghanistan.
They said that Pak-Afghan political relations were strained in the past which affected the mutual trade,
citing that due to the strained relations between previous governments, bilateral trade and fell from
USD 3.3 billion to USD 1.1 billion. They said the Taliban government wanted to trade with the regional
countries.
LCCI President Mian Nauman Kabir said that Pakistan and Afghanistan enjoy warm and cordial diplomatic relations. There have been many testing times in history but Pakistan always stood with Afghan brothers
he said and added that both countries were not only good neighbours but also members of SAARC and OIC.
He said that Afghanistan was one of the major trading partners of Pakistan. It has been top exporting
market for Pakistani products since ages. Afghanistan comes at 7th place among the top exporting
countries and at 21st place among the top importing countries for Pakistan in the world.
Mian Nauman Kabir said the balance of trade had traditionally been in favour of Pakistan, whereas
the volume of trade in terms of value between Afghanistan and Pakistan averaged around USD 1.16 billion.
The LCCI President said that according to the State Bank of Pakistan, the worth of Pakistan’s exports
to Afghanistan was around USD 983 million against the imports amounting to USD 179 million in 2020-21.
During the first six month of current financial year (Jul-Dec 2021-22), Pakistan’s exports to Afghanistan accounted for USD 240 million and imports from Afghanistan stood around USD 90 million.
He added that Afghan delegates mainly belonged to key areas of economy like Construction, Pharmaceutical, Hardware, Steel, Hoteling, Food, Auto Parts, Fabric, Poultry, Coal, Plastic Materials, Tea, Chicken feeds,
Fresh Fruits and Vegetable etc., and they are interested to find some suitable companies in Pakistan
to work with. Hopefully, the B2B (business to business) meetings will prove fruitful for everyone.
Mian Nauman Kabir mentioned the Lahore Chamber had already signed a number of MoUs with leading
chambers of commerce from various countries. “To further enhance the process of flow of information,
we should regularly keep liaison with each other and also collaborate for exchanging trade delegations,”
he suggested and added that respective chambers of commerce of both the countries could play the
vital role in this connection. The LCCI President hoped, “This MoU will guide us well in making the right
strategy for moving forward.”
Mian Anjum Nisar stressed for a foolproof mechanism to promote bilateral trade and investment.
He called for exchange of trade delegations between the two countries.
The delegation also visited various departments of LCCI including the services being offered to the LCCI members including Passport Office, ID Card Office, E-Sahulat Markaz, FBR, LESCO, WASA, Traffic Police, Excise & Taxation, FTO and others.
Former SVP Amjad Ali Jawa, former VPs Tahir Manzoor Ch, Mian Zahid Javed Ahmad, EC members Mian
Ateeq-ur-Rehman, Malik Muhammad Nadeem, Malik Riaz Iqbal, Mian Jabbar Khalid, Yousaf Shah, Khalid Mahmood and former EC member Moazzam Rasheed were also present.