Ministry of Commerce of Islamic Republic of Pa : 8th meeting of Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Trade Coordination Authority (APTTCA)

28-30th December 2020, Islamabad, Pakistan: The 8th meeting of Afghanistan Pakistan Transit Trade Coordination Authority (APTTCA) was held in Islamabad from 28th to 30th December, 2020. The Afghanistan delegation was led by Mr. Nisar Ahmad Faizi Ghoryani, Minister of Industry and Commerce of Afghanistan. During the visit, he had meetings with the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr. Abdul Razak Dawood, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Commerce and Investment, Mr. Ali Zaidi Minister for Maritime Affairs, Mr. Asad Qaiser Speaker of National Assembly and Private Sector of Pakistan.

The 8th APTTCA meeting was jointly inaugurated by Mr. Abdul Razak Dawood, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on Commerce and Investment and Mr. Nisar Ahmad Faizi Ghoryani, Minister of Industry and Commerce of Afghanistan. Mr. Muhammad Sualeh Ahmed Faruqui, Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Mr. Hashmatullah Ghafoori, Deputy Minister of Irrigation and Natural Resources, Ministry of Agriculture Irrigation and Livestock, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, co- chaired the meeting.

The two sides held detailed discussions for the revision of APTTA in constructive and positive spirit where a lot of progress was made on the agenda. Texts of the proposed drafts were earlier exchanged and discussed in the meeting between the two sides. The two sides agreed to have further discussions and exchange views on the subject matter.

This would be followed by next meeting in on a mutually agreed date and place to make further progress.

In addition to the talks on APTTA, constructive discussions were also held on PTA and proposed sustenance markets. An MoU on Railway cooperation was also discussed.