The Ministry of Commerce (MoC) has requested immediate follow-up action on the decisions taken in the meeting held between Tajikistan Minister for Trade and Economy and the Commerce Minister of Pakistan.
A record note of the meeting, dilating on the areas discussed, has been circulated among the concerned ministries to expedite the work related to their jurisdiction.
The Commerce Minister, during the meeting, put forth a proposal for procuring Tajik cotton for Pakistan through any mutual convenient mode and to send a business delegation to Tajikistan.
The Tajik Minister welcomed the proposal for procuring Tajik cotton for Pakistan and had conveyed that 1.2 million tonnes cotton was available in his country.
The Tajik Minister conveyed that the Tajik government would be pleased if Pakistani companies could participate in the construction of hydro-power dams in Tajikistan and further offered Pakistan the procurement of aluminium as Tajikistan was one of the biggest producers of aluminium and its alloys.
The Commerce Minister desired that a Pakistan delegation should visit and explore the possibility of the import or processing of aluminium in Pakistan through Pak-Tajik joint venture.
The Tajik Minister concurred to the idea put forward by the Commerce Minister of using Wakhan corridor for transit trade between Pakistan and Tajikistan.
He also agreed to the proposal to consider Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) between the two countries.
The Commerce Minister also highlighted the stringent trade regulations of Tajikistan, including certification, licensing and repatriation of capital, and requested the Tajik Minister to relax the regulations for Pakistani traders to enhance the bilateral trade.
The Tajik Minister agreed to relax business visa for Pakistani businessmen when it was pointed out to him that the visa policy was hampering the visits of Pakistani businessmen to Tajikistan.
During the meeting, the Commerce Minister reiterated his full support to Tajikistan's efforts for joining World Trade Organisation (WTO), and offered that Pakistan was ready for Tajik government's capacity building for the WTO.