GWADAR: The Pak-Afghan Chamber of Commerce & Industry (PACCI) and Gwadar Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI) on Friday agreed to utilise Gwadar Port for Afghan transit trade. The chambers also agreed to take measures for boosting bilateral trade.

A delegation of PACCI and Karachi business community led by the chamber’s president President Javed Barwani and Zubair Motiwala visited Gwadar. GCCI President Nagman Abdul and former president of the chamber Naveed Kalmati were also present in the meeting.

In a meeting held at the office of Gwadar Development Authority (GDA), Captain Gul of Gwadar Port Authority and GDA’s Abdul Razaq Baloch briefed the delegates about the utilisation of Gwadar Port and the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). The business leaders expressed their interest in promoting trade via Gwadar Port.

Former Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Junaid Makda and other business leaders were also among the delegates.

The meeting agreed that in the coming days PACCI, importers and exporters from the two countries and Afghan transit trade would utilise Gwadar Port. It was decided that steps in this regard would be taken in consultation with the concerned authorities so that Gwadar Port becomes a trade and economic hub between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

It was observed that mega development projects initiated under CPEC would ensure Gwadar’s place as the future economic hub of Pakistan.

In April 2020, as the Covid-19 pandemic spread, Pakistan had allowed import of bulk shipments of food items through Gwadar port for transit to Afghanistan to help Kabul maintain food supply.

Published in Dawn, March 19th, 2022