PESHAWAR: Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) and USAID-PREIA – Pakistan Regional Economic Integration Activity – have agreed to make joint efforts for establishment of Peshawar-Jalalabad Joint Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The agreement came in a meeting between SCCI President Faiz Muhammad and representatives of USAID-PREIA, Mr Salman Farooq and Saleena Baig at the chamber house here on Monday. The SCCI former vice president, Engineer Maqsood Anwar, All Pakistan Commercial Exporters Association Chairman, Manzoor Elahi, former vice president Abdullah Khan Yousafzai were present in the meeting.
Faiz Muhammad while speaking on the occasion said that a strategy would be evolved by holding a meeting with members of the Jalalabad chamber to establish a Peshawar-Jalalabad joint chamber of commerce and industry.
He hoped the establishment of Peshawar-Jalalabad Joint chamber will give a boost to mutual trade volume between Pakistan and Afghanistan, especially helpful to enhance trade and economic ties with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Afghanistan.
SCCI chief stressed the need for removing impediments to give boosts to the mutual trade volume between Pakistan and Afghanistan. In this regard, he suggested the signing of Free Trade and Preferential Trade agreements between the two neighbouring countries as well as be to be meeting, exchange of business delegation and organizing of joint trade exhibitions.
He pointed out that both countries business community are being faced with common challenges and tariffs related issues, which has hampered the bilateral trade with Afghanistan. So, he urged both Islamabad and Kabul to take proactive steps to remove hurdles to improve the bilateral trade and economic ties between the two countries.
Faiz Muhammad expressed hope the establishment joint chamber will not only enhance trade and economic activities with Afghanistan but it will also enlarge trade with Central Asian Republic states.
On the occasion, USAID-PREIA delegation agreed with the proposal of SCCI president Faiz Muhammad regarding the establishment of the joint Peshawar-Jalalabad chamber of commerce and industry and assured that efforts would be expedited for the earlier setting of the joint chamber between the two countries.
