December 11, 2002	Wednesday	Shawwal 6, 1423

PESHAWAR, Dec 10: Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and Kabul Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on Tuesday signed an agreement set up a joint forum to promote economic and trade ties between the two neighbouring countries.

Ghulam Sarwar Mohmand and Shuja-ud-Daula, presidents of SCCI and KCCI, respectively, signed the agreement during a meeting between the representatives of the two chambers at the Chamber House.

The joint businessmen forum would work to promote trade and business between the two countries by bringing closer members of the business community of the two sides.

In an attempt to create conducive environment for healthy competition ensuring equal business opportunities for the members of the trade and business circles of Afghanistan and NWFP, the SCCI and KCCI agreed to set up a committee — represented by the members of the two sides — to resolve trade related issues between traders and businessmen of the two sides.

The joint committee would be taking care to remove obstacles hampering trade and business circles of Afghanistan and NWFP apart from resolving differences between the members of the business community of the two sides.

According to a press release issued after the meeting, businessmen of the two sides expected that the establishment of the joint forum would help boost trade and economic activities between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

They said that businessmen and traders should play effective role to promote business ties between the two sides.

Speaking on the occasion, SCCI president Ghulam Sarwar Mohmand urged the need for making a fresh start to boost bilateral trade and business between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

He said that trade and business circles of the two sides should ignore their bitter experiences of the past to make a new beginning. In this respect he added that SCCI would shortly arrange an exhibition of Pakistani products (manufactured in NWFP) in Kabul to capture the attention of Afghan investors and traders.

Besides, the SCCI and KCCI, he added, would also exchange businessmen and traders’ delegations to strengthen trade and business relationship between the two countries.

On this occasion, the SCCI chief requested the visiting KCCI delegation to give preference to NWFP’s business community in their war-torn country’s reconstruction and that priority should be given to import goods from the Frontier province.

He demanded of the government to facilitate businessmen of the two countries to promote bilateral trade and business between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Reciprocating SCCI president’s remarks, the head of the visiting delegation from Kabul, Shuja-ud-Daula invited the NWFP’s investors for investment in Afghanistan.

He said that the government of Afghanistan had prepared a comprehensive investment package that guaranteed equal opportunities for the foreign traders and businessmen.

He said that by taking benefit from the package bilateral trade and economic activities between the two countries could be promoted.