Wednesday, June 03, 2009
By our correspondent
LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has urged Iranian authorities not to close the Taftan border for trade purposes as it is the only land route between Pakistan and Iran. However, it said the LCCI fully supports the border closure for traffic other than trade caravans.
In a statement, LCCI President Mian Muzaffar Ali and Convener LCCI Standing Committee on Excise and Taxation Shahzad Azam Khan, who were also part of Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif’s delegation to Iran last month, said that sealing of the border is affecting trade between the two countries and is contrary to the efforts of the two governments to increase trade.
Muzaffar Ali suggested that both the countries should issue ‘express immigration cards’ to businessmen so that they could travel to Iran for business purposes with ease.
He said the trade calls for a drastic improvement to achieve results and one of the great hurdles in export from Pakistan to Iran is a higher regime of custom duties on Pakistani products as compared to other countries for similar products.
He said that there is a lot of scope for collaboration in energy sector, paper & board, sugar, cement, chemicals, textiles and hides, transport & communication, construction of roads in Pakistan, scientific & educational cooperation, handicrafts, jewellery, carpets, fancy furniture etc.
Source: The news
