ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has approved the establishment of a Trade Facilitation Board and ordered urgent reforms to improve port efficiency and streamline the movement and clearance of goods, Sharif's office said on Thursday.

The move comes as Pakistan seeks to reduce trade-related bottlenecks and improve the efficiency of its supply chains and ports as it navigates a long path to economic recovery under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout program.

The prime minister will chair the proposed Trade Facilitation Board, which will take decisions on all non-tariff issues relating to improving the entire supply chain of trade and cross-border movement of goods, according to Sharif's office.

"This board will prepare a roadmap for trade promotion, trade facilitation index and monitoring strategy," the prime minister's office said in a statement.

Sharif issued the directives at a meeting he presided over to review trade facilitation.

The prime minister directed authorities form various working groups to improve the efficiency of ports, promote coordination between relevant departments, ensure compliance with regulatory frameworks, pre-arrival clearance and inclusion of small- and medium-sized businesses in the country's international trade.

"The prime minister directed simplification of delivery of goods, clearance and other matters at ports for importers and exporters and provision of maximum facilities to them," Sharif's office said.

The development comes amid Islamabad’s push to position the country as a regional logistics hub. Last month, Pakistan unveiled a unified incentive package offering discounts on port and cargo handling charges at Karachi Port and Port Qasim as it sought to attract more regional transshipment traffic.

Under the new framework, Karachi Port Trust is offering wharfage concessions ranging from 20 percent to 80 percent, together with 14 days of free storage at its terminals and 30 days of free storage at its TPX cargo area for cargo handled under a shipping agent's responsibility. The Port Qasim Authority is providing a 100 percent wharfage concession, along with seven days of free storage at its terminals, extendable to 21 days for cargo moved under a shipping agent's responsibility.

Officials at the Thursday's meeting informed the participants that the reduction in port charges have led to an increase in port activity and the facility to submit goods declarations before the arrival of ships was continuously increasing.