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Dawood asks exporters to send proposal for Pak-Afghan trade agreement

Adviser to the PM on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razzak Dawood on Thursday asked exporters to send proposals for the Pakistan-Afghanistan Perennial Trade Agreement (PTA).

Dawood chaired the first consultative session with stakeholders at the Ministry of Commerce. Taking to Twitter, the advisor said valuable inputs were provided the stakeholders.

 

He said the session will be followed by sector-specific meetings “so Pakistan’s request list” for the agreement can be finalised. The meeting with Afghanistan is expected to take place mid-December.

“I request all exporters to send their proposals to MOC at the earliest,” he wrote. “Bilateral trade with Afghanistan has to be placed on a sustainable growth path.”

After Prime Minister Imran Khan’s maiden visit to Kabul last Sunday, Dawood said the ministry was looking at “engineering, pharmaceutical, cement, building materials, fruit and vegetables for enhancing the trade liberalisation between both of the countries”.

Prior to the premier’s visit, Dawood led a trade delegation to the Afghan capital for two-day visit to discuss ways to boost bilateral trade ties with their counterparts in Afghanistan. He also held a one-on-one meeting with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

“Many understandings reached on several issues relating to trade & transportation,” he wrote on Twitter. “Hopefully, APTTA & the PTA will be finalised by the end of January 2021.”

“Will hold extensive meetings with all stakeholders in the coming days. Tremendous opportunities exist and I hope that our businessmen will realise them.”

 

Source : GEO

‘Construction activity worth PKR 1 trillion generated in Punjab’s housing sector’

Islamabad: Punjab Chief Secretary (CS) Jawad Rafique on Friday stated that construction activity in the province had generated PKR 1 trillion for the government, a news source reported. He expressed his views on the matter during a meeting of the National Coordination Committee on Housing and Construction; presided over by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan.

He said that construction activity initiated on 44 million square feet of land had led to an increase in the sale of cement, bricks, steel, and other building materials in Punjab.

Khyber Pakhtunkwa (KP) Chief Secretary Dr Kazim Niaz, who was also present on the occasion, informed the meeting that construction activity on six million square feet of land was seen to generate PKR 100 billion for the provincial government.

In response, the prime minister called for expediting the approvals process for applications pertaining to housing and construction. Moreover, he directed the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) to assist the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in addressing the queries of investors in the housing sector.

To this effect, SBP Governor Reza Baqir informed the meeting about the establishment of special desks for home loans by the central bank. Similarly, representatives of Bank Al Habib stated that the financial institution had disbursed PKR 6 billion in terms of housing loans.

 

Source : Zameen