ISLAMABAD, March 4: The Sarhad Chambers of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) will establish a special unit in its chamber to focus on improvement of bilateral trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

This was stated by the SCCI president, Adil Anis, in a meeting with the Islamabad Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) president, Zubair Ahmed Malick, here on Thursday.

The SCCI delegation was led by its president to hold consultations with ICCI for the promotion of Pakistan-Afghanistan trade. Both the chambers agreed to promote Pakistan's exports in Afghanistan and Central Asian Republics (CARs).

During the meeting, Zubair Ahmed Malick welcomed the visit of Mr Adil to the chamber and pointed out that in order to increase the quantum of Pakistan's trade with Afghanistan, the current duty tariff must be rationalized and brought down.

He said Pakistan was rich in mineral and human resources and if these resources were fully exploited, the country's foreign exchange reserves would significantly increase and foreign trade would flourish not only in Afghanistan but also in the Central Asian Republics.

He said it was important that there should be a greater interaction between the business communities through exchange of business delegations to strengthen the foreign trade. This proposal was welcomed by the SCCI delegation and both the chambers agreed to draw up specific plans jointly to achieve the stated objectives.