First-ever shipment from Pakistan under TIR leaves for Uzbekistan: Razak Dawood

Razak Dawood said this would ensure that Pakistan leverages its geo-economic location in the region

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Adviser to the Prime Minister for Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood Friday said Pakistan crosses milestone in trade world by sending first ever Transports Internationaux Routiers (TIR) consignment by Afghanistan to Uzbekistan.

The adviser informed that a milestone has been achieved in Pakistan’s transit trade history as Pakistan Customs processed the first-ever, TIR consignment at Torkhum destined for Tashkent (Uzbekistan) via Afghanistan yesterday, said a press release issued by Ministry of Commerce here.

The adviser attended a briefing on recent development in the trade and connectivity of Pakistan with the neighboring regions including Central Asia.

The consignment consisted of herbal medicines crossed into Afghanistan after completion of all custom formalities at Torkhum.

Meanwhile, he said the trade must be based on secure, open, consistent, reliable and legal movement of goods at the Afghan border along with enhanced connectivity with Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Central Asian Republics (CARs).

He said the long-term vision of the Government for trade and economic relations with Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Central Asian Republics (CARs) is that it wanted to make Pakistan a hub for trade, transit and transshipment.

Razak Dawood said this would ensure that Pakistan leverages its geo-economic location in the region to enhance its international trade. He said the current engagement with Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, are steps towards implementation of this vision.

Razak Dawood said that this was a moment of great pride for Pakistan and he lauded the efforts and role of the Pakistan Customs in this regard.

This successful TIR operation will usher a new era of direct land-route trade with the CARs.

He said the use of TIR system will streamline border procedure cutting time and money for trade and transport operators.

At the outset, the advisor said that connectivity with trading partners is vital for viable trade relations.

He said the structure and efficiency connectivity networks enable access to markets and should be considered a facet of the trade competitiveness.

On the occasion, Razak Dawood was briefed by the institutions concerned that the Customs Convention on the International Transport of Goods under Cover of TIR Carnets (called the “TIR Convention”) came into force in March 1978 and it replaced the original Transport Internationaux Routier (TIR) of 1959.

Pakistan became a member of TIR Convention in 2017 and now the convention has 68 contracting parties including China, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey and all CARs.

The objective of the TIR Convention is to facilitate international transit through simplified Customs transit procedures and an international guarantee system. Customs procedure takes place at origin and destination rather than at each border crossing, using a single guarantee.