On Strengthening Transport Connectivity and Trade ... report_rev...Strengthening Transport...

MINISTRY OF COMMERCE

GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN

Regional Conference

On

Strengthening Transport Connectivity and Trade Facilitation

in South and South-West Asia

Pearl Continental Hotel, Lahore, Pakistan, 9-10 December 2013

Organized jointly by

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)

and

Ministry of Commerce, Government of Pakistan,

Report

The Conference was organized by Trade & Transport Facilitation Project of Ministry of

Commerce in collaboration with UNESCAP, also supported by UNCTAD and World Bank. The

programme extending over 2 days comprised 6 technical sessions besides the inaugural and

concluding sessions. It was attended by 80 national and 19 international participants, and 7

representatives of UNESCAP and UNCTAD.

Inaugural Session

Chief Guest: Honourable Engr. Khurram Dastgir Khan, Minister of State for Commerce,

Government of Pakistan

2. Conference commenced with recitation of Holy Quran. Mr. Qasim M. Niaz, Secretary,

Ministry of Commerce welcomed the participants and said that the focus of this Conference is to

bring together international experts, trade practitioners from countries in the regions, logistic

service providers and other domestic and regional stakeholders and representatives of regional

organizations to share knowledge and experiences that will help progress the regional

connectivity and trade facilitation agenda. In addition to providing participants with valuable

insights and information from subject experts, the conference would also provide the opportunity

to share national experiences from public and private sector practitioners. He emphasized the

requirements of development of hard and soft aspects of better quality regional infrastructure,

linking countries through better connectivity and improving trade facilitation, cutting red tape

and boosting access to critical information to reduce the costs of trade between countries. He

acknowledged that integrated and efficient transport network is essential for South and South-

West Asia to realize its intra-regional trade potential. He informed that Pakistan has benefitted

from automating the customs procedures.

3. Dr. Nagesh Kumar, Director of UNESCAP South and South-West Asia office referred

to the post-crisis change in the global context when advanced economies of the world could no

longer serve as the growth poles for the world economy and the need for rebalancing in favour of

local and regional demand makes regional integration critical. He referred to the ESCAP’s South

and South-West Asia Development Report, which had shown that the South and South-West

Asia was among the least integrated regions of the world with bulk of its trade potential

remaining unexploited or underexploited due to a lack of fully developed transport links in the

region leading to high trade costs. The benefits of geographical proximity and contiguity have

been lost in the process. Poor transport connectivity has not allowed to develop region’s

production network and value chains. South Asia has also not been able to exploit its strategic

location at the crossroad of Asia and the Pacific region because of its poor connectivity. He

emphasized the need to coordinate the regional frameworks of SAARC, ECO and BIMSTEC

regionally to exploit the synergy and network externalities more fully. He mentioned that inter-

governmental agreements on the Asian Highway and the Trans Asian Railway, adopted under

the auspices of ESCAP were meant to assist member countries in planning, implementing and

improving the transport infrastructure in a coordinated manner to maximize the synergies. The

new inter-governmental agreements on dry ports, which had been offered for signatures, would

help to integrate the Asian Highway and Trans Asian Railway networks into an intermodal

transport system. He pointed out that with the establishment of South and South-West Asia

office in New Delhi in December 2011 ESCAP secretariat was now focussing greater attention to

this subregion. This regional conference was the second in the series of such events launched by

ESCAP with partners in different countries and would build on the first event held in Dhaka in

June 2013. There are plans to launch more such initiatives in different parts of the subregion in

the coming months. The UNESCAP’s proposal of developing a connectivity master plan for the

region was endorsed in Dhaka and the UNESCAP hopes to work with different stakeholders in

the coming years to develop it.

4. Honourable Engr. Khurram Dastgir Khan, Minister of State for Commerce stated that

regional integration is the recipe for growth and efficiency gain and development of regional

infrastructure brings about a direct and positive impact through linking and strengthening

economic corridors, by reducing trade costs and attracting foreign direct investment. The

Minister stated that the Government of Pakistan is convinced that international trade can bring

the much need prosperity through job creation and foreign exchange earnings. This is equally

important that policy interventions must also aim at increasing trade with the neighbouring

countries which would demand improving transport infrastructure and trade facilitation. In the

recently announced ‘Vision 2025’ for Pakistan, improving regional connectivity through trade

corridors, motorways, energy corridors and industrial zones is one of the priority area of work

for the Government. Regional integration must bring prospects not only of prosperity but also of

durable peace, security and stability. Government of Pakistan is making sincere efforts with its

neighbours for improving regional integration as a tool for regional peace and prosperity. The

expertise available with UNCTAD, UNESCAP and the World Bank in the area of transport

connectivity, trade facilitation and regional integration is well acknowledged and recognized.

The Minister expressed confidence that the knowledge gained through this Conference and

recommendations emanating from it would be useful for the policy formulation by Pakistan. He

emphasized the role of development partners in supporting investment in multi-country transport

infrastructure. The Minister inaugurated the Conference.

Session 1: High-level Panel on Potential and Prospects of Strengthened Transport

Connectivity in South and South-West Asia

Chair: Mr. Habibullah Khan Khattak, Federal Secretary Ministry of Ports & Shipping,

Government of Pakistan.

5. Dr. Nagesh Kumar, Director South and South-West Asia Office pointed out that South

and South-West Asia (SSWA) is the least integrated region in the world. Bulk of intraregional

trade potential remains unexploited in SSWA. Intraregional trade could generate additional $52

billion of exports, with potential for increasing it in 2017 to $167 billion. He mentioned that the

results of the geographical simulation model run by the ESCAP suggested that the improved

connectivity led to reconfiguration of the economic activities where the lagging regions or the

poorer regions got more benefits and some activities moved from the more developed regions

leading to a more balanced outcome. He said that like any other network, benefits of

externalities grow disproportionately as the corridors are extended and therefore there is a case

for integrated transport corridors across the sub-region to maximize network externalities. He

suggested that SAARC, ECO and BIMSTEC should coordinate the transport connectivity related

work so that one single corridor can connect all these subregions following ESCAP’s Asian

Highway and Trans Asian Railway and this extended corridor could make South and South-West

Asia region a hub of East-West trade with each country on the route a hub for others leading to

mutual interdependence and shared prosperity. In this context he mentioned about the two

corridors proposed by the UNESCAP SSWA. One is the road corridor along the Asian Highway

route linking Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, called in short TIPI-BM road

corridor. The other is the Trans Asian Railway corridor linking the Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad

containers goods train with the planned container train connectivity between Bangladesh, Nepal

and Bhutan. The connectivity all the way from Istanbul to Dhaka and further to the East Asian

countries could thus be perceived by linking these two regions, one under ECO and one under

SAARC by a railway network in India. He said that it could be developed following a building

block approach as a part of an agreed master plan with greater financial viability to mobilize

resources. These would open potential trade channels connecting Europe, Central Asia, West

Asia, South Asia, and East Asia. Following actions were recommended as the way forward:

Prioritize physical infrastructure development

Closing the infrastructure gaps and upgradation of others

Address transport facilitation bottlenecks

Regional transit agreements to enable cross border movements

Mobilizing resources for infrastructure development through multilateral development

banks, public-private partnership and development of regional financial architecture

He pointed out that foreign exchange reserves of $7 trillion or more held by the Asian countries

could be mobilized for the development of regional financial architecture. The multilateral

development banks like the World Bank and the ADB are also potential funding sources apart

from bilateral funding arrangements.

6. Mr. K. L. Thapar, Chairman, Asian Institute of Transport Development, New Delhi

ascribed fragmentation of transport links in the region to historical legacy and mentioned that

there is potential of reducing the non-tariff and behind the border costs by as much as 30-40

percent. He mentioned that the prevailing trading regime is often saddled with several opaque

measures and land routes are restricted for movement of commodities even though these are not

in the negative list. The restrictive trade practices inevitably lead to smuggling activities. He

pointed out developments in the maritime sector leading to opening of new sea-cum-land routes

like newly developed ports at Bandar Abbas and Chabahar (Iran) and Gwadar (Pakistan) for

accessing Afghanistan and beyond. Bhutan and Nepal have been allowed the use of Mongla and

Chittagong sea ports in Bangladesh; Myanmar has allowed the use of its port at Sittwe for transit

traffic to North-East region of India. The recently completed road from Delaram to Zaranj links

the road network of Afghanistan with Iran and its port at Chabahar. He informed that in the rail

sector, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have rail links with Afghanistan and Pakistan has planned

to extend railway line to Afghanistan. Iran will have a spur line to Herat (Afghanistan) and has

built a rail link to Pakistan. Iran has developed transport links to the Central Asian Republics,

thereby opening a new corridor for South Asia to access these republics. Turkey has started a

train ferry designed to carry rail traffic through Lake Van. This facility enables rail link between

Iran and Turkey. He pointed out that agreement on Trans-Asian railways and Asian Highways

network has the potential of providing integrated inter-modal transport corridors and described

development of integrated check-posts at the borders as important initiatives in trade facilitation.

Projecting about the likely future scenario he mentioned that regional production networks are

likely to become more important in future; availability and access to relevant technologies in the

neighbouring countries would be cost-effective in the long run and would also bring about

harmonization of transport technologies. He said that restoration of traditional transport links by

road, rail and waterways would involve minimal investments and would result in maximum

benefits in the shortest timeframe. This would help in revival of languishing railway systems.

Trans-border pipelines carrying energy and optic fibers providing digital connectivity could be

laid alongside the railway lines and highways. He stressed that non-government organisations

having a regional footprint have an important role to play in regional cooperation.

7. Mr. Haroon Sharif, Adviser, World Bank, Islamabad mentioned that the world is

moving out of a unipolar world with certain other powers emerging leading to certain regional

institutions and the institutions of global governance is possibly not adjusting to the regional

dynamics. Powers of smaller countries in the region in terms of getting their voice heard

economically and strategically would be far more significant. Mr Sharif mentioned that the

World Bank was trying to connect South Asia, particularly Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal on

the eastern side with West Asia and the Central Asia. He said that people have not seen a large

regional cooperation project working in fraternity. The World Bank is trying to strike one or two

deals in the next two years so that people start believing that they can actually think beyond their

internal market. Finally, he emphasized the critical need of knowledge partnership and credible

knowledge at the regional platform. He informed that the World Bank is partnering with a

number of think tanks and private sector to come up with credible data and disseminate among

private space. He stated that connectivity would be far more lucrative and selling to the policy

makers and private sector if this is linked to understandable benefits. He informed that the World

Bank has allocation for regional IDA. For funding any two or more countries into a project, the

World Bank does not tap country allocation.

8. Mr. Jan Hoffmann, Chief, Trade Facilitation Section, UNCTAD started his presentation

on transport connectivity for landlocked countries by mentioning the WTO Bali Ministerial

Conference which had concluded by finalizing the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation. He

informed the Conference that the UNCTAD’s Review of Maritime Transport 2013 was released

last week and this report answered some very interesting questions. He pointed out that

availability of more transport supply created more competition, lowered freights and generated

more trade. Better trade facilitation leads to more trade, generates more income to finance trade

facilitation. He mentioned that transport connectivity is a key starting point in this chain. He said

that containerisation has lowered trade costs and led to more trade. He referred to an empirical

finding that distance is less important for freight rates than connectivity. He informed that

customs and other trade facilitation measures are gaining prominence in growing number of

Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs). He mentioned that facilitation of trade to land-locked

countries is in the interest of transit countries as economies of scale and improved connectivity

reduce costs of the transit country’s own trade and generates other induced economic activities.

He informed that Bali Trade Facilitation Agreement had a number of Articles related to transit

trade. He recommended that assurance of uninterrupted transit should be adopted as a basic

feature of all trusted transit operator programmes and pointed out that trade and transport

facilitation reforms help to formalize trade, save time and frustrations, improve governance,

empower women entrepreneurs, strengthen regional integration, modernize public

administrations, foster IT capacities, improve security, and increase revenue collection. He

further stated that introduction of ICTs by Customs encourages SMEs to connect to the internet;

and a framework for bank guarantees for transit trade helps improve the financial system. A

single window experience for trade may help to introduce single windows elsewhere. .

9. Mr. Sandeep Raj Jain, Economic Affairs Officer, Transport Facilitation and Logistics

Section, Transport Division, UNESCAP in his presentation on Strengthening Transport

Connectivity in South and South West Asia mentioned about ESCAP’s work on the seven

international Conventions under ESCAP resolution 48/11 and the Regional Strategic Framework,

which address the issues of non-physical barriers holistically. He stated that a master plan to

strengthen transport connectivity in the South and South-West Asia is a way forward. The master

plan will cover existing transport infrastructure projects and transport facilitation agreements

requiring minimal investment. It will be a strategic document with action plans for short and

medium term and will be developed through consultations at the country and subregional level

followed by adoption by countries. Multilateral development banks, various aid agencies and and

subregional initiatives like ECO and SAARC will be the partners. ESCAP tools for developing

master plan will include Regional Strategic Framework for Facilitation of International Road

Transport and four transport facilitation models, namely, Efficient Cross-border Model; Secure

Cross border Model; Model on integrated controls at border; and Time-cost distance methodology.

The Master Plan will be implemented in phases with in-built mechanism of monitoring.

10. Open floor discussion

Views were expressed that the recommendations of the Conference should be followed up

preferably through a working committee. The audience was informed that the Ministry had already

made a working group and committee on regional connectivity, which is seeking

recommendations. The proceeding of this Conference should go to that committee. It was indicated

that Bali agreement makes it obligatory for each country to have a committee at the national level.

For regional level there can perhaps be some mechanism thought of for these national committees

to coordinate.

Opinion was expressed that Pakistan should have facility of a transhipment hub; policies are

needed for running transhipment terminals. Suggestions were made that Pakistan’s strategic

location should be exploited for the country to emerge as a hub of East-West. For this, giving

transit to other countries can bring economic activities.

It was suggested that people should be educated about supply chain management and it should be

arranged in a professional way.

Concerns were expressed regarding extremism and terrorism posing big hurdles and the political

powers controlling the development of trade and industry in Pakistan. In response, views were

expressed that compelling economic arguments may bring countries together and drop hostilities.

Europe was cited as a case in point.

SESSION 2: Status of Transport Connectivity including Transit Facilitation in South and

South-West Asia: Country Presentations

Chair: Mr. Hassan Nawaz Tarar, Federal Secretary, Planning, Development & Reforms

Division, Government of Pakistan.

11. Mr. Raja Nowsherwan, Member, National Highways Authority, Ministry of

Communications, Pakistan made a presentation on realizing the potential of strategic location of

Pakistan through connectivity.

He stated that to achieve the goals of regional connectivity improvement of road, rail and ports

infrastructure; and regulatory framework i.e. regional, bilateral and multilateral transit transport

agreements were essential requirement. Such regional linkages enabled regional integration,

promoted multimodal transport, enhanced of trade and tourism, reduced trade and transportation

costs and promoted security and peace in the region. Aim of the Government of Pakistan was to

develop Pakistan as a hub of sub-regional connectivity between high growth East Asia and

resource rich Middle East, improve regional connectivity, establish efficient and well integrated

transport system to achieve competitive economy, reduce transport costs and enhance

affordability, increase road density from 0.32 to 0.64 Km / Km2; and achieve 50% reduction in

travel time, 10% decrease in road transport costs and 50% decrease in transportation losses.

Describing Pakistan’s road connectivity with the neighbouring countries he mentioned that there

are four routes linking China and Pakistan; eight road links with Afghanistan and two road links

with Iran and two with India. There is a proposed road-link between Pakistan and Tajikistan via

Afghanistan. AH1, AH2, AH4, AH7 and AH51 are the designated Asian Highway routes in

Pakistan. Some are in good conditions whereas some are being upgraded or reconstructed in

different stretches. Pakistan is a member of CAREC and recommended a number of corridors.

He emphasized the criticality of institutional consensus in moving forward.

12. Mr. Mohammad Malyar Jabarkhel of Afghan Customs Department mentioned that

Afghanistan in Heart of Asia and is situated in important strategic location connecting South

Asia with Central Asia. Afghan Government is very serious about transport transit projects and

infrastructure. There will be more tunnels established in Salang Pass, which is vital for

connecting Central Asia with South Asia. Rail routes of Afghanistan have been extended from

Hairatan to Pakistan through Mazar-e-sharif and will be extended to Turkmenistan border. One

railway line will be extended from Iran to Herat city. Afghanistan is investing in dry ports,

border facilities and customs infrastructure. He explained how Afghanistan was being

transformed from a land locked country to land linked country by implementation of web-based

“ASYCUDA World”. It was an integrated multifunctional platform working as Customs centric

Single Window with enhanced technical capabilities. 95% of total trade and transit declarations

were already covered. The system is being used as a data exchange system between Pakistan and

Afghanistan under APTTA. Afghanistan has recently reactivated its membership with TIR. Key

factors of efficient customs transit were legal framework, integration of functions on regional

level, secure guarantee system, infrastructure and modern and efficient computerised system.

13. Mr. A.G.M. Mir Mushir Alam, Deputy Secretary, ministry of Commerce, Bangladesh

presented a detailed scenario of total as well as land border trade with the countries participating

in the conference He explained the legal arrangements between Bangladesh, India, Nepal and

Bhutan for movement of transit trade by road and rail through Bangladesh and also the major

challenges faced for efficient flow of transit trade. He mentioned that the Bhutanese and

Nepalese trucks have necessary permission to enter into Bangladesh territory by using Indian

land but the Bangladeshi trucks have no such permission to enter into Land Port in Bhutan and

Nepal. Some of the challenges faced at border crossings are: delays in clearing or unloading of

Bangladeshi trucks, delay in checking quality of export items, absence of quarantine facility,

overloading of trucks, absence of warehousing facilities, insufficient space for unloading for

transhipments, gauge conversion of rail line between Birol-Radhikapore and need for

establishing rail linkages at other border crossings.

To support trade facilitation measures ADB has undertaken the Transport Logistics and Trade

Facilitation Project under SASEC to develop the missing rail link between Akhaura

(Bangladesh) and Agartala (India) and to develop a cross-border management regime and has

conducted Business Process Analysis to identify various bottlenecks that affect trade between

Bangladesh and Nepal, and Bangladesh and Bhutan. Main challenges in implementing

facilitation measures are harmonization of design standards for roads and bridges, vehicle speeds

and loading; political attitudes; economic non-viability of introducing automated system in all

land border stations; and shortage of adequate funds.

He emphasized the importance of the Intergovernmental Agreement on Dry Ports being adopted

by the ESCAP member countries as a key step towards streamlining trade facilitation. In order to

ensure seamless movement of cross-border traffic, his recommendations were: deployment of IT-

base traffic information to provide homogeneous information on road corridors; a Motor Vehicle

Agreement; harmonization of traffic information service. He emphasized the need for exploring

innovative financing options for regional infrastructure development and maintenance need

along with the ways of enhancing private sector participation in infrastructure.

14. Mr. Tshering Wangdi, Chief Engineer, Department of Roads, Ministry of Works &

Human Settlement, Royal Government of Bhutan made the country presentation. He mentioned that

Bhutan’s road transport vision includes, among others, construction of dry ports, completion of Asian

Highway (AH 48) from Phuentsholing to Thimpu and construction of Southern East-West Highway to

connect economic hubs in southern part of the country and onwards to India. There is no railway in

Bhutan. Bhutan is land locked and the connectivity by land transport is possible through India.

International connectivity is provided with India, Nepal and Bangladesh by AH 48 and AH 2.

Phuentsholing near Jaigaon in West Bengal is the main gateway for international trade (over 82

per cent). About 55% import and 94% export takes place with India. Trade with other countries

within the SAARC region is marginal. Small volume of cargo makes it infeasible to book

railway wagons or use bigger containers to and from the sea port. For third country imports

majority of the goods are transported in containerized cargo. Goods coming from India are

transported in open trucks. Bhutan’s legal and regulatory regime for accession to revised Kyoto

Convention is being assessed under ADB funded SASEC Trade Facilitation Program. Revenue

Administration Management Information System (RAMIS) is being developed under ADB

funded technical assistance and various other trade facilitation initiatives have been taken.

Agreement on Trade and Commerce with India allows free trade between the two countries through

designated entry and exit points. Transit of cargo from sea-ports is subject to very minimal

checks. There is also free movement of Bhutan registered vehicles in India. With Bangladesh,

international trade takes place through designated entry and exit points from the India and

Bangladesh. There is no formal trade and transit agreement with Nepal so far. Panitanki near

Siliguri in India is designated as the transit route for Bhutan-Nepal trade.

Bad road condition, multi check post of local authorities on the highways and lack of timely

border coordination meetings are the major challenges.

15. Mr. Y. S. Shahrawat, Chairman, Land Port Authority, India stated, that India had 13

major inland border crossing points with neighbouring countries. The Land Port Authority of

India had been established to develop and manage the facilities for cross border movement of

passengers, cargo and vehicles. It will set up roads, terminals, warehouses, parking and office

buildings; provide space and facilities to regulatory agencies, banks, post office, tourist

information centre etc.; install goods handling, communication, security and scanning

equipment; put in place systems to address security imperatives; and co-ordinate among all the

authorised agencies at the inland crossing points. In the first phase it is to establish Integrated

Check Posts (ICP) at 7 locations with various bordering countries and follow these up with

another 6 ICPs in the second phase. These ICPs will be state of the art facilities with single

window facility to enable smooth movement of passengers and cargo. The ICPs will reduce

transport and transaction cost, decrease informal trade, increase bilateral & transit trade, generate

employment and wealth, boost investments and opportunities, and stimulate travel and tourism.

The speaker mentioned about functional ICP at Attari, 30 kilometres from Lahore; and one in

Agartala in the east. Whatever facilities are available in international airport for cargo and

passengers are also provided for in the ICP.

16. Mr. M. Mokhber, Road Maintenance & Transportation Organization, Government of

Islamic Republic of Iran provided information regarding road network of Iran, movement of

cargo through various border terminals and stated that share of road is about 95% in movement

of freight and passengers. The administrative arrangements for handling passengers and cargo

have been well defined. Physical facilities at the border terminals have been laid out to facilitate

movement of passengers and cargo. A number of Customs, road and rail conventions have been

acceded, and several bilateral, multilateral agreement signed by Iran to enable smooth flow of

traffic through the transit corridors of Iran. Various measures such as renovation of road

transport fleet, improvement of national road network, increased transport security, adoption of

new technology and IT systems, development of border crossing terminals and TIR- Parks and

establishment of ASYCUDA Single Window system are being adopted to facilitate transit trade.

Main challenges to be addressed are: relatively high time and cost of transit, lack of multimodal

transport, visas for drivers, lack of scanners for trucks and drugs, lack of return cargo for

container, and deficiency of human, animal, and plant quarantine facilities

17. Mr. Keshab Kumar Sharma of Nepal stated that absence of seaport deprives Nepal

competitive global business. Up to 40% high transit cost inflates the price of both imports and

export. Consequently most of the trade is with India and China. He said that transit to

Bangladesh is through Phulbari-Banglabandh route. Road condition is poor near Phulbari.

Banglabandha port has not been fully functional owing to the absence of a transit agreement for

the use of Indian territory as a transport route for Bangladeshi, Nepalese and Bhutanese trade

cargoes. The East-West Highway has a missing link on the west side with India in Banbasa.

Similarly, there is a physical barrier of the old Sarda bridge. The trucks cannot move. Regarding

cross-border operation for freight by rail, the speaker mentioned that it is not possible to transit

completely by rail to Nepal as the Jamuna Bridge (Bangladesh) cannot support rail freight

loading.

In spite of number of transit and trade agreements, transit processes and procedural controls

remain cumbersome.To facilitate trade Customs Act and Regulations have been amended and

new provisions incorporated in line with Revised Kyoto Convention and WTO Valuation

system. Trade and Transport Facilitation Committee under Commerce Secretary has been formed

to steer trade facilitation. Short term (within 1 year), medium term (within 3 years) and long term

(within 5 years) plans have been prepared for implementation with technical assistance of

international organizations.

18. Mr. Erdem Direkler, Deputy Director General, Department of Transport, Turkey stated

that Turkey was located on main trade and transport arteries; it was exporting many commodities

to different countries and had shown high growth in trade and GDP during the recent years. It

was member of various international organizations and had acceded to many international

conventions to facilitate trade and transport. It had adopted uniform harmonized procedures in

keeping with international standards and had many technical assistance projects in hand.

SESSION3: Business Perspective on Challenges to Transport Connectivity in South and

South-West Asia

Chair: Mr. Rashid JanMohammad, Director, National Trade & Transport Facilitation

Committee

19. Mr. Zulfikar Ali Bader, Chairman of SAARC Chamber Young Entrepreneur Forum

mentioned that the lack of transport and trade facilitation poses a big hurdle and one of the

important steps to reduce this hurdle is through proper training of the staffs. He mentioned that

in the regional context improvement of connectivity between India and Pakistan is important

because these two countries are major players in the SAARC region. However, decision making

takes too long. He informed the audience of the forthcoming youth conference ‘SAARC

Chamber Young Entrepreneur Forum’ and said that such conference could provide platform for

friendly interaction between people, entrepreneurs and politicians and help ease the decision

making process. He showed a short film, which was a promo of the youth conference.

20. Mr. Babar Badat, Senior Vice President of Global FIATA, Pakistan presented FIATA’s

perspective regarding lack of transport infrastructure in South and South-West Asia, and stated

that lack of logistics connectivity in many parts of the world is the biggest non-tariff barrier to the

growth of international trade. He said bottlenecks are encountered because of poor condition of

roads, lack of intraregional connectivity between the national road networks, unreliable and overall

costly road transport services, unrealized high potential for rail and inland water freight, and

inadequate road and rail connectivity of ports with the hinterland. He recommended audit of

logistics infrastructure in each country of the region. FIATA stresses importance of logistics

connectivity and suggested that there should be a common platform of logistics association of the

region involving government and private sector. He recommended that in Pakistan there should be

one ministry to deal with transport issues; currently different sectors of transport are under

different ministries.

21. Mr. Rajan Sharma, President, Nepal Freight Forwarders Association mentioned that

Nepal is a land locked country and therefore the logistics cost is very high. 35 to 40 per cent of the

logistics costs are due to detention and demurrage charges. He mentioned that the lack of

consolidation for LCL movement also increases logistics costs. For trade facilitation, Mr Sharma

emphasized the importance of engaging private sector in decision making process, recognizing the

criticality of the flow of information and finance, predictability of the supply chain, knowledge and

compliance with the international regulations and standards. He recommended activating Asian

Regional Standard Organization, capacity building in the government and the private sector,

optimum capacity utilization of infrastructure, and joint drafting of transhipment modalities for

automation, risk management and Single Window application. He narrated that for trade

facilitation in Nepal, ICDs have been made and are being constructed; logistics Master Plan is

under preparation; Single Window System is being introduced and transhipment module is being

drafted. Custom is also working on its e- custom Master Plan; CTD automation with India is being

worked on and laboratories are being set up in strategic locations. He mentioned that Government

of Nepal engages private sector in important committees on trade and transport facilitations. He

recommended that there should be a regional public-private sector forum to meet every six months.

22. Dr. Arbind Prasad, Director General, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce &

Industry, India stated that poorly developed land transport linkage constrains regional economic

integration in the South and South-West Asia (SSWA) region. The SSWA region is better

connected with Europe and North America than with itself. As a result, the trade costs are high

and the benefits of geographical proximity and contiguity are not available to the region’s trade.

Enhancing transport connectivity is essential to reduce transportation costs for economic and

trade development in the region, and to emerge as a hub of East-West trade. He mentioned that

challenges to regional connectivity arose from the absence of integrated and improved cross-border

transportation network and regional transit system; poor quality and inefficient infrastructure

services, both hardware and software; high transportation costs, poor institutions, and missing

links in road and rail networks. Challenges relating to the trade barriers include cumbersome

cross-border and transit transport procedures, multiple handling and different standards on vehicles

and drivers across countries. There are delays at borders due to different operating hours across

the border and the need to change the trucks at the borders. There are several difficulties relating to

railways. Train service at Wagah is underutilized (almost 60 to 70%); consignments are delayed due to

unavailability of wagons at borders and transhipment loading and unloading process.

As a future road-map he recommended the following:

Developing and upgrading land-based transport infrastructure

Constructing “missing links”

Removing non-physical barriers to transport

Regional transit agreements to enable cross border movements

Constantly improving the performance of border corridors and Land Customs Stations

(LCSs)

Eliminating the asymmetry between the Land Customs Stations

Removing multiple handling of goods at border

An integrated action plan for developing transport connectivity and trade facilitation in

the region

23. Mr. Harpreet Singh. Director (Projects & Services), Container Corporation of India

Ltd.(CONCOR) pointed out that South and South West Asia region comprises high growth

countries as compared to the world average. However, domestic and regional trade through

transport connectivity is a must to sustain growth. To achieve this greater emphasis needs to be laid

on improving rail connectivity of the region. He informed that Container Corporation of India Ltd

is the leading multimodal logistics company of India with extensive facilities and 80% market

share. The Corporation is also planning operation in other neighbouring countries.

Talking about the challenges, Mr. Singh mentioned that the Trans Asian Railway has missing links

and gauge mismatches between some countries. He said that demonstration run of container train

between Bangladesh, Nepal and India has already been planned and then the plan is to move to

other regions for connectivity. For container movement, container interchange protocol between

India and Pakistan and also between other countries needs to be finalized. The modalities of

containers to be moved across the border needs to be tied up with all stakeholders including

shipping lines.

24. Open discussion. Responding to a question seeking elaboration of the purposes and

possible benefits from transport audit, it was clarified that that infrastructure audit will help to

make assessment of transport facilities. The audit will reveal the level of integration between

different modes of transport. The audit will allow bringing everything on a common platform

and it will help galvanizing opinion regarding where exactly investment is needed for the

maximum benefit of the industry and the economy. It was informed that this kind of audit has

already been undertaken by the Government of Pakistan. Answering a question about whether

any country of the region is focussing on the development of logistics infrastructure Mr Badat

said that China has budgeted $ 1 trillion for investment in logistics over the next ten years.

SESSION 4: UNESCAP Recommendations and Tools for Transport Facilitation Measures

Moderator: Mr. Jan Hoffman, Chief, Trade Facilitation Section UNCTAD


Section, Transport Division, UNESCAP made presentation of various tools developed by the

UNESCAP that help facilitating road transport. He mentioned that ESCAP’s Facilitation Toolkit

contains Secure Cross-Border Transport Model; Efficient Cross-Border Transport Models;

Model on Integrated Controls at Border Crossings; and Time/Cost-Distance Methodology. The

Secure Cross-Border Transport Model of the UNESCAP uses various technical devices such as

tracking unit, e-seal, e-lock, monitoring platform, and PDAs. Application of these technical

solutions requires close cooperation between the control authorities of the countries formalized

by bilateral agreement or a mutual recognition agreement. These systems offer benefits to control

authorities in terms of increased safety and security, real time enforcement and enhanced

capacity to handle traffic. For transport operators the benefits are in terms of reduced transport

time, less transaction cost, increase predictability of consignment, optimal fleet management and

asset utilization. These technologies are widely available and being extensively used in transport

sector in various parts of the world. The model gives an idea about how a vehicle tracking

system can be developed, which can address the cross-border needs. Many of the software are

available on-line and the systems are becoming more interconnected. It is possible to share

information in different domains, different functional departments and in different kinds of

operating systems.

26. Ms. Heini Suominen, Associate Economic Affairs Officer, TD, UNESCAP described the

ingredients of Efficient Cross-Border Transport Models. Efficient Cross-Border Transport

Models provide analytical framework to compare various options to address a comprehensive list

of non-physical barriers. Solutions are then ranked in terms of difficulties and costs. She then

described another UNESCAP model, the Model of Integrated Controls at Border Crossings.

Various control agencies operate at borders, with differing but overlapping data needs. The

model provides concept of integrated use of ICT-based systems and modern equipment at land

border crossings on the basis of sharing of information. Benefits of the application of this model

derive from more efficient flow of information, minimized interventions in the process of

crossing borders, inter-agency sharing of the results of the inspections, etc. She then went on to

present the UNESCAP’s Time/Cost – Distance Methodology. The purpose of this model is to

identify inefficiencies and isolate bottlenecks along a particular route by looking at the cost and

time characteristics of every section along a route. The methodology can be useful in three ways.

It can compare, over a period of time, the changes of cost and/or time required for transportation

on a certain route; compare and evaluate competing modes of transport operating on the same

route; and compare alternative transport routes. It is simple to use and flexible and can be applied

in different contexts; uses minimum information.


Section, Transport Division, UNESCAP said that these models will be used to support the

Master Plan. He mentioned that the UNESCAP’s Regional Strategic Framework for Facilitation

of International Road Transport identified fundamental issues in road transport. The ESCAP has

suggested how to resolve these issues. These can be through international regulations, bilateral or

subregional agreements. Key modalities to resolve this problem will include: building an

effective legal regime; wider application of new technologies; development of professional

training for drivers; establishment and strengthening of national coordination mechanisms;

promotion of joint controls at border crossings; promotion of economic zones at border

crossings; and application of facilitation tools. For effective legal regime ESCAP has developed

Regional Network of Legal and Technical Experts. He mentioned about the principle of Joint

Customs Control, which implied control and regulation in only one place.

28. Open floor discussion. It was reported that the ECO is facing difficulties in using

common VISA stickers for the drivers; some of the countries were not even ready to discuss such

arrangements. ESCAP’s Regional Framework has recommended simplification of VISA

procedure for the drivers. The suggested way was for the transport operators to send the list of

drivers to the embassies so that the drivers can get one-year VISA with multiple entries. This can

be incorporated as a part of bilateral or multilateral agreement. However, doubts were expressed

about likely effectiveness of the approach suggested by the ESCAP’s Framework. It was also

reported that the ECO was facing problems on Third Party Liability Insurance. Responding to a

question it was clarified that Joint Control could take various forms. There could be dedicated

common controlling office at the border where officers of one country could go and inspect the

goods. Examples were given that there was a provision in the CBTA in the GMS countries for

such joint controls. There was a joint control in Turkey-Georgia border crossing. China and

Tajikistan had a common manifest. Pakistan and India have joint manifest at Wagah border.

Responding to a question on actual example of the UNESCAP’s Time/Cost-Distance

Methodology in South Asia it was clarified that no such instance of application of the method in

South Asia was known. ADB in Central Asia monitors corridors through this methodology. In

response to a question raised it was clarified that the Time/Cost-Distance Methodology was not

being used for ranking countries.

SESSION 5: Transit, Regional Connectivity and Integrated Border Management

Chair: Mr. Lutfullah Virk, Chief Collector Customs, Pakistan

29. Dr. Manzoor Ahmad, Regional Trade Adviser, USAID mentioned that Pakistan has

several regional agreements focussed on trade and transit transportation, but Pakistan was not

making use of these agreements; and in terms of transit it is isolated. He mentioned that the

number of containers moving through Pakistan has declined after the signing of APTTA with

Afghanistan in 2010. He mentioned that despite approval by the Pakistan Cabinet in 2002,

Pakistan has not implemented TIR Conventions whereas all the other nine member countries of

the ECO have implemented it. As a way forward he suggested that Pakistan’s granting MFN

status to India will enhance Pakistan’s exports and revenues. He gave examples of how

Pakistan’s trade and revenue had increased through Wagah border. He also advocated

implementation of TIR. He suggested that Wagah border should be made operational 24 hours

and four or five more routes could be opened subject to political decisions. Speaking about trade

facilitation stressed the need for risk management, information availability, expediting the new

WTO agreement on trade facilitation built on the Revised Kyoto Convention, introducing

integrated border management, developing supply chain and suggested that cargo should move

straight to dry ports rather than getting trans-loaded manually at the border.

30. Syed Tanveer Ahmed, Director (Reforms and Automation), Pakistan Customs explained

the Web Based One Custom (WeBOC) system introduced by Pakistan Customs for processing the

trade documents, under which all custom processes are performed on-line by customs staff. It

includes risk management system under which inspection/examination of goods is already

reduced from 100% to 30%. To implement the system training has been provided to staff of all

the concerned organization. It is planned to progress automation of customs in stages to achieve:

Paperless Customs; Port Community Information Exchange; linkage of other government

agencies for paperless permits and certificates; National Single Window; and Regional Single

Window. The system comprises the following components:

ACCESS (Automated Customs Clearance System) to deal with all Customs clearance

procedures

TARIP (Tariff and Integrated Policy) to give complete picture of regulations for import or

export

ECHO (Enhanced cargo handling and port optimization) to connect port authorities,

carriers (shipping agents and co-loaders), Customs agents etc.

INTRA (Integrated Regulatory Authorities) to connect the regulatory authorities involved

in imports/exports. Federal Board of Revenue, all VAT and direct tax commissionerates,

Central Bank and National Bank have been connected. Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of

Production, Plant and Animal quarantine have been given links. Registered transport

sector is on line

He had suggested that for effective implementation of these ideas customs should be declared a

lead agency with support and monitoring at the highest level, at the level of the Prime Minister.

For Single Window, there is a need for a legal framework to bind all the ministries and

departments, he said.

31. Dr. Jawwad Uwais Agha, Collector Customs, Pakistan spoke about the potential for

regional connectivity and stated that it involves transfer of relevant customs data in a structured

format, by agreed message standards, in a secure environment, from one country’s customs

system to another without human intervention. It was necessary to follow international standards

and best practices. Customs administrations of the countries to be connected have to take the

initiative by establishing joint technical working arrangements, enter into necessary agreements

and take stakeholders along. He informed that Pakistan, in the recent past, has taken a few

regional initiatives with its neighbours. Data exchange is taking place between Afghanistan

(ASYCUDA) and Pakistan (WeBOC). On the cards there is an initiative to have EDI with India at

Wagah; the CAREC initiative; and the EDI and connectivity with China. There is a good potential

for sharing expertise in the region. Regional connectivity platform is a must happen for

connectivity.

32. Dr. Shaheen Afroze, Research Director of Bangladesh Institute of International and

Strategic Studies mentioned that South Asia provides huge opportunities for trade, investment,

and economic growth but mistrust and historical hangover restrict such opportunities. As a result

South Asia continues to remain as the least integrated regions in the world today but there exists

tremendous potential to enhance intra-regional trade up to USD 40 billion once challenges to

connectivity are addressed.

She informed that Bangladesh and India signed a Framework of Agreement in 2011 for the use of

Chittagong and Mongla sea ports by India, Nepal and Bhutan through road and rail and it was

agreed to develop Ashuganj in Bangladesh and Silghat in India as new ports of call. Construction

of rail link between Akhaura (Bangladesh) and Agartala (India) to be financed by a grant from

India was also agreed upon. The project is under implementation. The Government formed a core

committee to analyse the various transit related issues and their implications and make

recommendations to the government. According to the core committee report, Bangladesh roads

are unfit for heavily loaded trucks to ply unless express ways of higher loading standards are built.

With regard to rail routes, major constraints include weight restrictions on Jamuna Bridge where

there is also a restriction on the number of trains that can cross the bridge per day.

She indicated that Bangladesh, in the meantime, is addressing the challenges with regard to the

software side of connectivity. Custom procedures are being modernized and improved;

ASYCUDA (Automated System for Customs Data) is in process. Chittagong port is under several

reforms; and the Government and the private sector have been working very closely.

She pointed out challenges including inadequacy of banking, warehousing, security, a lack of

way-side facilities, congestion etc.

Dr. Afroze mentioned that strong political commitment and building mutual trust are important to

establish greater connectivity. In this regard, strong connectivity of people and mind are crucial.

32. Mr. Y.S. Shahrawat, Chairman, Land Ports Authority of India was a discussant in the

session. He informed that exports of Pakistan increased by 100 per cent within one year of

commissioning of the Integrated Check Post at Attari. The ICPs at Attari and Wagah are

functioning 365 days a year and working for very long hours. He said that MFN is very essential;

but the restricted list of 137 items that are allowed to be imported from India to Pakistan needs to

be removed.

33. Open floor discussion. In response to a question raised it was informed that the basic

system of online data exchange between Pakistan and Afghanistan has been developed. When the

commercial transit system starts operating, the insurance guarantees will be released

automatically. Some difficulties are now being faced in getting the correct data through EDI from

Afghanistan. Corrective measures are being taken.

Comment was made that Pakistan should be developed as a transshipment hub and policies should

be made accordingly. LCL transshipment should be allowed.

Mr. Virk, Chairperson of the session remarked that working between Indian customs and Pakistan

customs is probably ideal with periodic exchange of visits of customs officials of Pakistan and

India. There is also hotline between the two customs. Pakistan customs is fully geared to work

even 24 x 7.

SESSION 6: Initiatives by other Organizations/Institutions in Promoting Transport

Connectivity in South and South-West Asia

Chair: Dr. Mohammad Saeed, Senior Technical Adviser, UNCTAD

34. Mr. Altaf Asghar, Deputy Secretary General, ECO stated that implementation of the

main UN Conventions such as the Harmonization Convention or the TIR Convention has

enabled EU Members attain more than 65% regional trade, while the trade realized between

ECO countries remains is at the low level of 6%. One of ECO prime policy objective is to

establish a modern and efficient transport system in the ECO region linking member States to

each other and with the outside world. To achieve this ECO member States signed the Transit

Transport Framework Agreement (TTFA) in May 1998. The Article 28 of the Agreement calls

for contracting parties to effectively apply the provisions of UN TIR Conventions. Nine out of

ten member countries have acceded to this Convention. The only country left is Pakistan. The

ECO has requested the Government of Pakistan to accede this Convention as early as possible.

Various activities and programme are being pursued by ECO for facilitating movement of cargo

across the region. To find out problems and barriers confronting seamless transport in the region,

ECO with IRU organized Silk Road Truck Caravan of more than 12,000 km from Pakistan

through Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Azerbaijan and Turkey in 2010. For road

transport two corridors have been finalized for operation. One is Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul (ITI)

road transport corridor and the second is Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan-Afghanistan-Iran (KTAI). The

plan is to operationalize these corridors in 2014. He informed that ECO has prepared ECO

Railway Network Development Plan. On the north-south corridor, the railway construction

between Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran is being coordinated by the ECO

Secretariat. Regular run of container train between Istanbul-Almaty and Bandar Abbas is also

being coordinated by the ECO Secretariat. On the east-west corridor, operation of railway

services between Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul and Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan-Afghanistan-Iran are

being coordinated by the ECO Secretariat. The ITI regular container train has completed 29

operations so far and it has demonstrated its usefulness to connect east to west. ECO, with the

member States is trying to make this operation regular and pursuing the member States to

remove the hurdles and logistics bottlenecks. He proposed UNESCAP to consider development

of common framework like COTIF or OSJD for facilitation of railway transport to achieve the

goal of interconnectivity. He proposed that in the next Policy Dialogue UNESCAP should devote

one session to legal issues in connectivity He also wondered if there could be a World Transport

Organization like there is World Trade Organization, Word Health Organization etc.

35. Mr. Jan Hoffman, Chief, Trade Facilitation Section UNCTAD spoke about the potential

collaboration that is possible with the UNCTAD. He informed that UNCTAD has ten years of

shipping connectivity data. UNCTAD is collaborating on research, on ASYCUDA in several

countries offering solutions, and is also associated in negotiations on trade facilitation. UNCTAD

can support national mechanism. Countries also seem to connect inside the country for which

they need this mechanism, he said.

36. Open floor discussion. On the issue of the prerequisite of a common transit system

among the member countries for interconnecting South and South-West Asia by rail, it was

clarified that COTIF is a U.N. Convention and OSJD is an agreement. For COTIF, CIM notes

have to be prepared, and for the OSJD, SMGS are required. When a train comes from Turkey in

Europe, COTIF ceases to apply as the train enters into the Central Asian States, where OSJD

applies. Thus, a change in the consignment note is needed there. The ECO has tried to sort out

this problem with the UNECE; UNECE is also working on this and trying to prepare unified

railway laws and develop common convention.

In response to a question it was stated that ECO does not prescribe any time-frame to the

member countries when they start any programme on regional connectivity. On the issue of ways

of avoiding transhipment across the border it was mentioned that such transhipment occurs

because of railway gauge mismatches between one country and another and changing the gauge

only for a limited stretch of railway track leading to the border point would not be feasible. There

are solutions available like changing the wheels of the wagon and adjusting the axel to move the

container, or changing the bogie, but only the cost-effective measures have to be applied.

CONCLUDING SESSION

Chief Guest: Honourable Khawaja Saad Rafique, Minister for Railways, Pakistan

37. Dr. Nagesh Kumar, Director South and South-West Asia Office, UNESCAP presented

the key conclusions and recommendations. Explaining the organizational background of the

Conference he observed that the participants agreed on the importance of such dialogues in

raising awareness of stakeholders on benefits of regional economic integration and strengthened

connectivity and identification of solutions. The Conference also noted the need and compulsion

for harnessing the potential of regional economic cooperation and integration in the dramatically

changed global context in the aftermath of-financial crisis and appreciated the role of developed

land transport infrastructure and facilitation at the borders in this context. The Conference also

noted that poor transport connectivity was affecting the vulnerable segment of population the

most as the border areas often remained among the poorest in the region. It was hoped that an

analysis and discussion of the lost opportunities due to poor connectivity would assist in

compelling the governments in South and South-West Asia to put aside the political differences

and move ahead to exploit the potential of stronger connectivity and economic integration for

enhanced competitiveness, shared prosperity and inclusive and balanced development. The

transport connectivity would also help in developing regional energy pipelines and power grids

critical for energy security and for ICT connectivity. The Conference noted the efforts made by

countries to develop cross-border trade and transport and integrated border management

including by development of the Integrated Check Posts (ICPs), authorized economic operator

programmes, customs automation and use of ICT, movement towards national single windows,

entering into bilateral and subregional transport, and accession to international conventions. The

Conference also noted the strategic location of Pakistan as a gateway for South Asia and East

Asia to Central Asia, Middle East and beyond and its potential to emerge as a transshipment hub.

In this regard, it was felt that creation of a dedicated ministry would be helpful in order

coordinate with different agencies to strengthen transport connectivity within Pakistan and with

its neighboring countries. The conference noted the importance of railways as a most economical

and environmentally benign mode for domestic and regional transit transport for passengers and

for cargo movements. The Conference noted numerous initiatives to strengthen transport

connectivity under various subregional organizations that are under overlapping frameworks of

SAARC, BIMSTEC, ECO and bilateral and trilateral arrangements. It noted a need for a

coordinated approach to developing transport corridors between these regional bodies to

maximize network externalities that can provide a major boost to the economic activity in the

region especially in the landlocked countries of the region. The two potential corridors discussed

include a road corridor on the Asian Highway Network linking Turkey and passing through

Islamic Republic of Iran, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Myanmar. The other is a railway

corridor on Trans-Asian Railway Network extending the existing Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad

container block train to Dhaka through Delhi and Kolkata linking it with the container train

proposed in the Bangladesh-India-Nepal trilateral framework. These corridors could be made

effective with minimal investments as the infrastructural links already existed. Only necessary

institutional arrangements would need to be put in place. The Conference reiterated the important

role of private sector and need to incorporate their views in developing and implementing

initiatives to strengthen transport connectivity. The need to build capacity of the private sector

and government officials to ensure effective implementation of such measures was also

indicated. ESCAP Regional Strategic Framework for Facilitation of International Road Transport

is a guiding document that can be used to plan and implement measures to strengthen transport

connectivity in SSWA and ESCAP transport facilitation models as tools to address the

operational challenges in international road transport. Secure Cross Border Transport Model

provides a concept for vehicle tracking system using new technologies; Efficient Cross Border

Transport Model as a methodology to identify non-physical barriers, evaluate alternatives and

find optimal solutions which can work best in a given subregion; Model on Integrated Border

Crossing that provides ways to streamline the flow of information and equipment at the borders;

and Time-Cost Distance (TCD) methodology to identify bottlenecks along the corridors. The

Conference welcomed UNESCAP proposal for a Master Plan on Strengthening Transport

Connectivity in South and South West Asia (SSWA), taking note of logistics audit as

appropriate, which could be developed in consultation with government agencies, regional and

subregional organizations, multilateral development banks and other key stakeholders. The

conference noted that such a master plan could be implemented using a building block approach

and could help to attract investments for infrastructure development in the region. The

Conference felt a need to encourage member countries for having a unified institutional

arrangement for logistics development at the national level besides evolving national single

windows for facilitation of trade. The Conference highlighted the need for developing credible

information and analysis on the potential and prospects of regional economic integration and

knowledge sharing policy advocacy partnerships for dissemination to all the stakeholders

including the private players to overcome the perceptional biases existing among the people in

the region on benefits of regional cooperation. It also stressed the need for effective follow up on

the recommendations of the Conference. The Conference thanked Ministry of Commerce,

Government of Pakistan for warm hospitality and excellent organization of the Conference.

38. Mr. Javaid Mansoor, Executive Secretary, NTTFC, Pakistan briefly highlighted the

following recommendations of the Conference:

Achieve regional connectivity by developing regional highway, railway networks and

regional transit agreements

Establish one Logistics Ministry for interconnectivity of transport by rail, road, air and

sea.

Develop logistic environment by strengthening and providing enabling facilities like

pipelines, electric transmission and ICT connectivity.

Make regional trade networks fully effective.

Strengthen regulatory framework for trade facilitation and trade promotion.

Simplify Customs and other regulatory procedures at border crossings.

Establish modern integrated land border crossing facilities.

Develop national single window for international trade.

Eliminate non-tariff barriers.

Ratify the UNESCAP recommended international conventions.

Enter into regional and bilateral trade, transport and transit agreements.

39. Views from the participants. Suggestions and comments were invited from the

participants on the conclusions and recommendations of the Conference. Suggestions were given

for policy development to encourage trade at land borders and through the railways. The meeting

was informed that with the development of the Chabahar port in Iran and the newly developed

Zaranj-Delaram road in Afghanistan, there is a land route opened up to the Central Asia. One of

the participants informed of an earlier initiative in Pakistan, namely the National Trade Corridor

Improvement Plan (NTCIP) and suggested that the NTCIP recommendations should be

incorporated in the final recommendations. A Working Council could be formed including the

stakeholders especially the private sector. The other recommendations from the participants

included the need for Pakistan’s accession to the TIR; establishment of a unified transport ministry

in Pakistan; independent regulatory body of different modes of transport; and promoting public-

private partnership on BOT basis at the land borders.

40.. Honourable Khawaja Saad Rafique, Minister for Railways, Pakistan delivered the

valedictory address. He congratulated UNESCAP and the Ministry of Commerce, Government

of Pakistan to organize this event. He stated that although South, South East and Central Asia

region hosts nearly half of the world’s population and has huge mineral deposits, the volume of

trade among the countries of region is negligible; the intra-regional trade amongst South Asian

countries is merely 5% of the total world trade. Besides, whatever little trade is taking place is

via sea route and incurring additional expenditure due to waste of time. The intra country rail and

road routes, border facilities and transit trade agreements seek immediate and effective attention

for early implementation to bring this region at par with the developed world. Transit Trade

Agreements are not facilitating trade in this region. Lot of efforts is still needed on the Asian

Highway and Trans Asian Railway. All countries of the region have to work for the integration

of sub regional transport corridors along with the establishment of economic zones as clusters for

different commodities. Instead of waiting for the completion of missing links the benefits of the

Multimodal Transit Trade System can be reaped. The government in Pakistan has accorded top

priority to develop the corridors vital for regional connectivity. Pakistan has a unique natural

geographical position, bordering two major emerging economies of the world, China and India,

linking the mineral rich areas of Central Asia with Middle East and uniting South Asia with

Europe through Southern Corridor. Realizing the importance of this central position present

government is fully committed to sponsor and accord top priority to all major communication

projects to realize the dream of a true transit state, he said. He spoke about developments of the

Gwadar port, work on Pak-China Economic Corridor, transit access to Afghanistan, linking with

Central Asia, and connectivity of India-Pakistan-Iran-Turkey and Europe. He mentioned that

prosperity comes through accessibility; poverty, ignorance and extremism are the main hurdles

on the way. Promotion of mutual trade is the most effective way to eradicate poverty and

extremism. He expressed hope that the discussions would bring forward plans and proposals to

remove all hurdles and open up new avenues of peace and prosperity of this region. He said that

the Government of Pakistan will try its level best to fulfil its obligation by following on the

recommendations of this Conference, especially regarding rails and road corridors..

41. At conclusion of the Conference Mr. Sajjad Ahmad, Additional Secretary, Ministry of

Commerce, Pakistan offered the vote of thanks to the Honourable Minister, UNESCAP,

UNCTAD, World Bank, all the guest speakers, organizing team of Ministry of Commerce and

the participants for making the event a great success. He specially thanked the voluntary

contributions of GRFC and its team of volunteers, SAARC Chamber of Commerce, Pakistan

Cargo and other facilitators. He mentioned that the Conference has highlighted important

suggestions for member States to adopt and for the UNESCAP to incorporate in its agenda. The

event was a success from substantive perspective.

42. Field visit to Wagah Border: A field visit was organised for the delegates to the Wagah

land border at the Land Custom Station to see the infrastructure and facilities. Custom officials at

the Land Custom Station made detailed presentation on the existing and planned facilities and

infrastructure and the management process. The presentation included statistical details on export

and import through the Wagah border and data on custom revenue, seizure, passenger movement

etc.

On Strengthening Transport Connectivity and Trade ... report_rev...Strengthening Transport...

Documents

Transcript of On Strengthening Transport Connectivity and Trade ... report_rev...Strengthening Transport...