KARACHI, Feb 27: A delegation of National Logistic Cell (NLC) will visit Afghanistan to explore opportunities for local products as well as to sort out shipments, cargo movement and logistic issues.

This was stated by Director General, NLC, Maj-Gen Syed Haider Javaid in a seminar on Latest Development — Rebuild of Afghanistan, organized by the International Freight Forwarders Council of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) on Wednesday.

He, however, did not mention the date of visit, but said that the delegation will visit as soon as security situation improves in the neighbouring country. Meanwhile, an FPCCI member said that the FPCCI will also send a trade delegation shortly to Afghanistan to explore investment opportunities for undertaking long-term projects.

NLC chief said tremendous opportunities exist for our businessmen to send products “from needle to aircraft” to Afghanistan. He said he had requested the government to find out certain trade promotional areas where industrialists and traders can win major contracts.

On trade with other countries, he said, a bilateral border trade agreement has been signed with Iran recently. He, however, pointed out that Iranian authorities were charging tax on goods coming from Pakistan but the items coming from Iran are arriving without any levies.

NLC Chief said the CBR chief said that there must be some documentation of goods coming from Iran.

Besides a paper has been submitted by the NLC as to how to facilitate trade with ECO states and Afghanistan.

He said there is currently no arrangement to send goods directly to Afghanistan and the consignments are unloaded on the border areas from where Afghanis pick it up.

NLC chief said negotiations are under way with various local and foreign agencies to make arrangements for taking the consignments directly to Afghanistan.

During the seminar, some participants pointed out that NLC chief was concentrating more on NLC’s profile rather than highlighting main topic of the seminar.

On dry ports, Syed Haider said that plans are under way to set up dry port at Quetta as the NLC is currently managing two dry ports — Hyderabad and Lahore.

NLC, with a manpower of 7,000, has 1,600 commercial vehicles whose average monthly running is 7.7 million km. Every year the budgetary targets of NLC are increased by Rs1 billion.

The company has entered into an agreement with Hinopak to acquire 100 new heavy vehicles by flushing out old vehicles. NLC has one billion rupees cash assets and no loans liabilities. The NLC paid back Rs2 billion two years ago.