KARACHI: For the first time in Pakistan’s history, a TCS truck carrying a commercial consignment travelled from Pakistan to Uzbekistan via Afghanis­tan, a press release said.

This landmark achievement was led by TCS in collaboration with the governments of Pakistan, Afgha­nistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan Regional Econo­mic Integration Activity (PREIA), the statement said.

The pilot shipment was the first in a series of five planned trial runs between Pakistan and Central Asia. PREIA provided technical and financial support for the pilot project involving TCS.

Commenting on this historic milestone, Khalid Awan, Chairman TCS, said, “In today’s world, trade moves through borders under a global system. Pakistan has entered that system now and TCS is the first Pakistani company to do so.”

“Regional trade is very important for our region. We have very strong ties with countries to our north, such as China and Central Asian Republics. Pakistan has enjoyed a traditional trade relationship with them and it has a very strong future potential,” he added.

It is the first successful international tru­cking pilot project. The purpose of Pilot runs is to physically check out routes and the Customs Interface Systems set up by member states. Most Regional countries including Afghanistan are now members of this global trade system. TCS is the first and so far the only TIR accre­dited operator in Pakistan.

The shipment was also compliant with the UN’s ‘Transports Interna­tionaux Routiers’ Conven­tion, an international cust­oms transit system that facilitates trade by expediting border checks between countries.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2021