KARACHI: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia agreed on Saturday to strengthen cooperation in the fields of customs and taxation to increase bilateral trade.
The development follows a 2019 visit by Saudi Customs Authority officials to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to discuss exchanging real-time information on the value of goods originating from Islamabad and Riyadh, and joint law enforcement measures to control illicit flows of currency and prevent drug trafficking.
On Saturday, Saudi Ambassador Nawaf bin Saeed Al-Malki met with FBR chairman Muhammad Javed Ghani in Islamabad.
“It was agreed in the meeting that relevant departments of both countries would further promote the cooperation in the field of customs and tax and would learn from each other’s best practices which would result in increasing the trade volume between the two countries,” the FBR said in a statement after the meeting.
Pakistani businessmen said the development was a “step in the right direction.”
“The trade between the two countries could only be increased by easing out tax and custom procedures of both the countries,” Sardar Shahid Ahmed Laghari, chairman of the Pakistan‐Saudi Arabia Business Council of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), told Arab News, as he lauded the Saudi ambassador’s efforts to resolve the issues faced by the business communities of both the countries.
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia strengthen customs, tax cooperation to enhance trade
https://arab.news/pr8dv
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia strengthen customs, tax cooperation to enhance trade
- Development follows a visit by Saudi Customs Authority officials to the Federal Board of Revenue in 2019
- Pakistani businessmen say strengthening cooperation is a ‘step in the right direction’
Türkiye says ready to help restore Pakistan-Afghanistan ceasefire amid continuing clashes
- President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made the mediation offer during a phone call to PM Shehbaz Sharif
- They also discussed the ongoing Middle East conflict, called for restraint to prevent further escalation
ISLAMABAD: Türkiye is ready to help restore a ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan amid fierce clashes between the two neighboring states, according to a statement released by the authorities in Ankara on Tuesday after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif over telephone.
The call came as Pakistani security officials reported heavy cross-border firing with Afghan forces in the Bazaar Zakhakhel area of Khyber district, highlighting the fragility of relations between the two countries.
Türkiye previously mediated talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan last year after major border skirmishes in October prompted Islamabad to close all crossing points for bilateral and transit trade.
Pakistan has frequently blamed Afghanistan for sheltering anti-Pakistan militant groups such as the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) and facilitating their cross-border attacks. Islamabad has said it targeted militant hideouts on the Afghan side of the frontier last month after repeatedly taking up the issue with the administration in Kabul.
The Afghan Taliban, who have always denied Islamabad’s charges, launched what Pakistan called “unprovoked aggression” in support of militant entities.
“Türkiye will continue to stand by Pakistan in its fight against terrorism and contribute to the re-establishment of the ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan reached through Türkiye’s initiatives,” Erdoğan said during the call, according to a statement from the Turkish presidency.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Ataullah Tarar earlier released figures related to his country’s military campaign against Afghanistan, saying 464 Taliban fighters had been killed since the beginning of the war and over 665 were injured.
He said Pakistani security forces had destroyed 188 Afghan check posts and captured 31. Additionally, they had targeted 56 locations across Afghanistan in aerial strikes.
According to Prime Minister Sharif’s social media message on X, he also discussed the escalating situation in the Middle East and apprised President Erdoğan of his country’s outreach to the Gulf leadership to reaffirm “Pakistan’s full solidarity with them.”
“We agreed that maximum restraint by all parties is imperative to prevent further escalation,” he added. “We also exchanged views on recent developments in Afghanistan and resolved to remain in close and frequent contact in our shared pursuit of peace and stability in the region.”
