The Commerce Ministry will begin engagement with all the stakeholders on the items to be placed in the proposed Pakistan-Afghanistan PTA (Preferential Trade Agreement), starting next week informed Advisor to Prime Minister on Trade and Investment Abdul Razzak Dawood on Friday.

“We are looking at engineering, pharma, cement, building materials, fruit and vegetables, etc. I request all the stakeholders to be prepared for discussions via video link,” stated Dawood in a tweet post.

The engagement will begin after the conclusion of PM Imran Khan maiden visit to Afghanistan.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have initiated the discussions on bilateral trade, Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) and Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) and investment-related matters between the two countries.

Advisor Razak Dawood led an official delegation to Afghanistan from November 16-17 in that regard. It was preceded by last month’s visit by Afghanistan’s acting Minister of Industry and Commerce Nisar Ahmad Ghoriani, to Pakistan.

Dawood on Wednesday said the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) between Pakistan and Afghanistan would be finalized by the end of January, 2021.

Similarly, he said, the Afghanistan-Pakistan Transit Trade Agreement (APTTA) would also hopefully be signed in the last week of January next year as the investment-related matters between the two countries would be resolved in the recent bilateral dialogue in Kabul.