KARACHI: Government of Pakistan has notified Uzbekistan Transit Trade Rules notified after approval by the Federal Cabinet, an official said adding first consignments is expected to reach Karachi by December 01, 2021.
Rules notified vide SRO 1466(I)/2021 covers transit of Uzbekistan’s cargo imported through Karachi Port, Port Muhammad Bin Qasim, Gwadar Port; and export of Uzbekistan’s cargo to other countries via Karachi Port, Port Muhammad Bin Qasim and Gwadar Port.
Accordingly, Directorate General Reforms & Automation, Karachi will generate one or more user IDs for the focal person of the Ministry of Investments and Foreign Trade, Uzbekistan for registration of different categories of users i.e., traders, government organizations, United Nations (UN) or Diplomatic Missions based’ in Uzbekistan with Customs Computerized System (CCS).
Moreover, vehicles transporting transit and bilateral goods shall be licensed by the competent authorities of the contracting parties as transport operator authorized to conduct international transportation.
Pakistan is expecting to tap the potential $90 billion, which will provide all Central Asian States access to Pakistani sea ports, mainly Gwadar Port.
Uzbekistan is currently highly reliant on the Iranian seaport of Bandar Abbas, accessed through Turkmenistan but they also have a transit trade agreement with Afghanistan while Pakistan also has Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA).
The Afghanistan-Uzbekistan-Pakistan transit trade would give access of Pakistani seaports to Uzbekistan and offer the access to all five Central Asian States for Pakistani exports. This would help in enhancing trade and regional connectivity and open doors for increasing Pakistan’s exports to Uzbekistan, while harnessing the potential of a $90 billion market in Central Asia.
Advisor on commerce Razzak Dawood earlier said Pakistani exporters had been concentrating on Europe, UK, America, Japan and Korea, “But there is a much bigger world so one of our policies is to look at the Central Asia republics and that is why we have selected this ‘Silk Route Reconnect’ theme and we have selected Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan is the only country that is connected with all Central Asian republics and they have very good infrastructure.”