PM Shehbaz approves establishment of Trade Facilitation Board, will head the body himself

Dawn reported that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has given his approval to set up a Trade Facilitation Board, which will decide on non-tariff issues linked to cross-border trade. The Prime Minister's Office said in a statement issued on Thursday that the approval was given at a meeting in Islamabad convened to review trade facilitation. Shehbaz will chair the new body, which is also expected to prepare a roadmap for promoting trade.

The board will also shape strategy on the Trade Facilitation Index and on monitoring, with a view to better supply chains. Separately, the premier instructed officials to act urgently on boosting how much cargo Pakistan's harbours can handle, and to set up working groups for that aim. The groups are to cover handling volumes at ports, stronger coordination between departments, adherence to rules, advance clearance of shipments, and the involvement of smaller firms in global commerce.

Directives were also issued to ease clearance for importers and exporters handling cargo at ports. The meeting heard that port utilisation has improved markedly since charges were lowered under the ongoing reforms. Attendees included Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan and Maritime Minister Junaid Anwar Chaudhry.