ISLAMABAD: The government of Uzbekistan has shared a request list of items with Pakistan for tariff reduction under the proposed preferential trade agreement (PTA).

This was disclosed in a consultative meeting to review progress to finalise Pakistan-Uzbekistan PTA. The commerce secretary and other senior officials attended the meeting. An official announcement said the ministry of commerce is in the process of finalising Pakistan’s request list in consultation with public and private sector stakeholders. The input of private sector, concerned ministries and departments has been obtained via detailed consultations in last three months.

Adviser on Commerce Razak Dawood directed the ministry to have a final round of consultation with the private sector stakeholders, companies trading with Uzbekistan, various chambers and associations to review the ground situation before finalising Pakistan’s request lists.

It was decided that seminars will be held by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) in Karachi and Lahore to apprise the business community about the agreement. Moreover, sector-specific webinars will be organised by the TDAP in the next two weeks to complete the process.

Published in Dawn, April 7th, 2021