SCCI chief calls for concrete steps to improve regional trade

Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Fazal Moqeem Khan called for concrete steps to improve regional trade.
Talking to a representative delegation of Azerbaijan and Turkiye headed by Sohail Sajjad here at the chamber house on Friday, Fazal Moqeem said KP/Peshawar is a gateway for trade and export to Afghanistan and Central Asian countries.
He stressed joint initiatives to improve mutual trade with Azerbaijan and Turkiye.
The meeting was attended by SCCI senior vice president Abdul Jalil Jan, executive committee member Ashfaq Ahmad, a representative from Turkiye Muhammad Afzal, Secretary General Muqtasid Ahsan and others.
The SCCI chief stated that traders from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa mostly depended on trade with Afghanistan and Central Asian countries.
He, however, said cross border trade and transit trade had been adversely affected owing to non-consistent policies and imposition of heavy duties/tariffs by the both governments, which should be reviewed.
Moqeem also mentioned about imposition of Infrastructure Development Cess on export by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government that has become the cause of complete shift of export from KP to other provinces, owing to which traders were faced with difficulty.
He demanded complete abolishment of provincial IDC on the export.
Earlier, the delegation briefed the SCCI president Fazal Moqeem Khan about initiatives for improving trade with Azerbaijan and Turkiye, especially efforts for bringing the business community of both countries closer to each other and fully capitalizing potentials and experiences.
Fazal Moqeem fully agreed with proposals of the delegation and urged federal and provincial governments to provide facilities to investors under a one-window operation.
Abdul Jalil Jan also spoke on the occasion and presented a number of proposals for enhancing trade with Turkiye and regional countries.