GUJRANWALA: Prime Minister’s Adviser on Commerce Abdul Razak Dawood has said the government is taking effective and solid measures to promote regional trade.
Talking to the business community at the Gujranwala Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), he said an agreement had been signed with Uzbekistan, while another would be signed with Tajikistan on Sept 17, adding that a new trade route had been opened from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to Moscow.
He said more new trade routes would be opened, adding that “We will make new records regarding exports during the next year.”
Dawood said a visit to Nigeria had been planned in November for trade and investment, adding that the National Export Development Board (NEDB) had been constituted under the chairmanship of the prime minister. A meeting of the NEDB had been conducted and the engineering sector would be discussed in its next meeting.
The duties on various items had been cut especially in the steel sector in the budget, he said and added that pharmaceutical and the textile sector had been rectified and now attention would be paid to the steel sector while a meeting was being called to solve problems of the rice sector as well.
Razak Dawood said commercial warehouses had been established where traders might place their items without paying duty, adding that there would be no Custom Duty and Sales Tax on machinery.
He said that the GCCI was playing an important role for progress and prosperity of the country, and appreciated efforts of traders and businessmen to increase exports of the country.
