ISLAMABAD, Nov 30: A high-level meeting here on Friday agreed to establish re-insurance pool to offer much needed cover to Pakistani companies against terrorist related risks as well as to cover riots and other civil disturbances.

The meeting which was presided over by Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz agreed in principle to set up re-insurance pool roughly at a cost of Rs800 million. The pool is expected to start functioning from January 2002.

However, no final decision could be taken because Commerce Minister Razak Daud could not attend the meeting.

“I have given a conceptional approval to have this re- insurance pool”, Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz said.

He told Dawn that now various modalities will be worked out by Task Force on insurance headed by Kamal Asfar within next two weeks time so that the issue could be decided as early as possible.

The finance minister said it was not correct that 75 per cent war risk insurance charges have reduced. He said that he has directed the concerned authorities to take up the issue with global underwriters of the shipping companies to get war risk charges reduced. “Afghanistan is a land-locked country and this is not fair to have increased insurance charges due to crisis or war in that country”, the finance minister added.

Aziz said that PIA and public sector enterprises have also been asked to get insurance coverage through normal channels.

He said that a three-member Asian Development Bank’s delegation headed by Wernel Leipach has arrived in the capital on the instruction of the president of the Bank who visited Pakistan recently.

“The delegation has met me and talked about helping us for reducing war risk insurance cost, helping us to reduce risk of insurance cost of companies operating in Pakistan and utilizing ADB facility for political risk coverage to import letter of credit for Pakistan”, the finance minister said.