The federal cabinet in its meeting on Thursday announced major decisions regarding trade and approved the decisions announced by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC). The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif via a video link from Lahore.
The cabinet approved the signing of the “Trade in Goods” Agreement between Pakistan and Turkey on the recommendation of the Ministry of Commerce. Pakistan and Turkey announced the signing of this agreement during the Prime Minister’s recent visit to Turkey.
Through this agreement, Pakistan and Turkey will get better access to each other’s services and investment sectors. Turkey will provide concessions on 261 tariff lines to Pakistan, including immediate “zero-rating” on 123 items, while Pakistan has offered concessions on 130 tariff lines to Turkey.
These items include products from eight major sectors, including agriculture, chemicals, leather, plastics, rubber, engineering, and metallurgical industries. This agreement will increase the volume of bilateral trade between Pakistan and Turkey to $5 billion.
Moreover, the Cabinet approved the Multi-Model Air-Road Corridor for Afghan transit trade on the recommendation of the Ministry of Commerce.
Furthermore, the Cabinet approved the transfer of funds to the Government of Afghanistan for the operations, maintenance, supply of equipment, and staff salaries of Pakistani hospitals in Afghanistan.
The Federal Cabinet has approved the resignation of the Chairman of the Federal Land Commission of Pakistan, Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad, on the recommendation of the Ministry of Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC).
The Federal Cabinet approved the decisions taken by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) in its meeting held on July 20. The approvals included allowing the Trading Corporation of Pakistan to sign an agreement with Chinese firms for the import of 200 KMT of urea on a government-to-government (G2G) basis and approving the lowest bid offered by Ms. Vittera B.V./Marine International at $404.86/MT on CFR Bulk at a 90-day deferred payment basis.
The Cabinet was further apprised that while ensuring transparent procurement of urea and wheat, special care was taken to ensure that the best quality could be purchased at the lowest price. In this regard, the concerned authorities rejected the expensive tenders and ensured the low-priced tenders in a timely manner.
The cabinet also approved the decision made in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee for Disposal of Legislative Cases on July 20. These decisions include the approval of the “Government-to-Government (G2G) Commercial Transaction Ordinance 2022.”
Additionally, the prime minister directed that a cabinet committee be formed for the names suggested for the board of directors of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), which will submit its report to the federal cabinet after consideration.
Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail briefed the cabinet on the recent increase in the rate of US Dollar. He said all necessary measures are being taken to stabilize the value of the Pakistani Rupee (PKR) and added that the rupee will stabilize by next month.
