Islamabad: Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has approved the establishment of a premier trade facilitation board to eliminate non tariff trade barriers, streamline cross border supply chains, and build a comprehensive trade promotion roadmap. The premier will personally chair the newly formed body, which will oversee national supply chain operations, construct a Trade Facilitation Index, and institute progress monitoring strategies to modernise the country's commercial ecosystem.
Emphasising the need for swift execution, the PM issued directives to relevant authorities to implement capacity expansion measures at national ports on an emergency basis. To operationalise these targets, dedicated working groups have been structured to focus on increasing port throughput, improving administrative coordination among regulatory bodies, ensuring compliance frameworks, expanding pre arrival clearance mechanisms, and integrating small and medium sized enterprises into international trade networks.
The review meeting was informed that initial reform measures including recent concessions on port and cargo handling charges, have already delivered a noticeable uptick in port utilisation across the country. The expansion of facilities allowing importers to submit Goods Declarations prior to vessel arrivals is expected to further reduce cargo dwell times and accelerate clearance procedures.
The high level meeting was attended by key cabinet members, including Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan, Maritime Affairs Minister Junaid Anwar Chaudhry, National Food Security Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain, Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Khan Cheema, PM's Adviser Haroon Akhtar Khan, and Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani.
