Trade barriers brought to light by Quetta Chamber in relation to business with Iran and Afghanistan
In a bid to boost trade with Iran and Afghanistan, the Quetta Chamber of Commerce has highlighted several major challenges facing Pakistani businesses and proposed solutions to overcome them.
The chamber has expressed concerns about the current trade situation, citing issues such as international sanctions on Iran, security concerns along the Pakistan-Iran border, inadequate infrastructure, and limited economic complementarity between the two countries. Political and diplomatic fluctuations due to broader geopolitical tensions further complicate trade relations. Additionally, border bottlenecks and regulatory barriers hamper smooth trade flow.
To address these issues, several solutions have been proposed and are under discussion. These include facilitating barter trade to bypass some constraints imposed by sanctions and financial restrictions, increasing export quotas for key Pakistani products like rice, fruits, and meat to Iran, operating and enhancing cross-border markets to ease the flow of goods, removing trade barriers and streamlining customs and regulatory processes, and strengthening use of existing trade corridors and border facilities.
The chamber has also suggested building trust-based partnerships across priority sectors such as agriculture, livestock, services, energy, and cross-border logistics to stimulate collaboration. Convening the Pakistan-Iran Joint Economic Commission meetings to systematically resolve trade issues and implement agreements has also been proposed.
The provincial government and Balochistan's business community have shared a list of issues with the Iranian Consul General, who has expressed openness to discussions to resolve trade issues. The Consul General of Iran in Quetta, Ali Reza Razaei, has agreed to work towards addressing these concerns.
The aim is to end the sense of deprivation and backwardness in Balochistan and to increase bilateral trade from current levels around $3 billion to targets between $8 billion and $10 billion annually. Both Pakistani and Iranian leadership have expressed strong political will to overcome these challenges.
The chamber has demanded the inclusion of officials from the federal ministries of Commerce and Finance, as well as the prime minister's representatives, in the merging of the Economic Forum and Joint Border Trade Committee. This move is expected to help in the effective resolution of trade issues and the implementation of recommendations from the Joint Economic Forum and Joint Border Trade Committee with Iran.
In recent months, complaints regarding Pakistan-Iran and Pakistan-Afghanistan bilateral trade issues have been received in Islamabad for the past six months. The chamber representatives have conveyed these obstacles to higher authorities and held dialogues with Afghan and Iranian officials. The provincial government was taken into confidence regarding the trade issues.
The reopening and then closure of the Badini border, the reopening of Qamaruddin Karez border, inactivity of border markets, and other issues have been raised by the chamber. Some issues will be resolved on the spot, while others will be conveyed to higher authorities.
In conclusion, addressing the challenges in Pakistan-Iran and Pakistan-Afghanistan bilateral trade requires a collective effort from all stakeholders. The failure to solve these problems would be a failure of the federation. The focus should be on better political alignment, leveraging geographic proximity, and regional trade cooperation models to maximize trade potential.
- The Quetta Chamber of Commerce has proposed the use of barter trade as a means to bypass some sanctions and financial restrictions affecting Pakistani businesses trading with Iran.
- In order to increase trade with Iran and Afghanistan, the chamber has suggested strengthening trust-based partnerships across sectors like agriculture, livestock, services, energy, and cross-border logistics.
- The chamber has demanded the participation of federal ministry officials and prime minister's representatives in the merging of the Economic Forum and Joint Border Trade Committee, aiming to resolve trade issues more effectively.
- Complaints about issues such as the reopening and closure of borders, inactivity of border markets, and other obstacles in Pakistan-Iran and Pakistan-Afghanistan bilateral trade have been raised by the chamber and are being addressed.
- To achieve the goal of increasing bilateral trade from $3 billion annually to targets between $8 billion and $10 billion, the chamber emphasizes the necessity of collective effort, focusing on better political alignment, geographic proximity, and regional trade cooperation models.
