ISLAMABAD: Gwadar Port started operating Afghan Transit Trade as the goods transited from Port of Jebel Ali, Dubai, to Afghanistan arrived at Gwadar by “DIYALA” Cargo Ship along Karachi Gwadar Gulf Service (KGS) of Cosco Shipping Lines Company. According to Gwadar Pro App, it is said that two 20-foot containers containing 54 tons of bagged fertilizers were transited this time. The goods would be transported to Afghanistan through Chaman, the most important frontier port at the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Chairman Zhang Baozhong of China Overseas Port Holding Company (COPHC) held that the company has always regarded transit trade as a significant direction of market development in order to take full advantage of the geographical condition and improve the economy of the radiation area of Gwadar Port, since the operations of the port. It is known that in order to smoothly carry out the first trial business, COPHC worked with the Customs of Gwadar, the Pakistan Department of Immigration & Passports, customs clearance agents, and transport companies to create a convenient and favorable external environment for the transit trade. Afghanistan, as a landlocked country, has relied on Pakistani ports for international trade. The transit trade between Pakistan and Afghanistan, restricted by port conditions and regulatory policies of the governments, is mainly transited at Ports of Karachi and Qasim with problems like long duration and high freight rates. Therefore, the Pakistani government opened Gwadar Port for the transit trade with Afghanistan. Gwadar Port finally obtained the permit of transit trade with Afghanistan in the second half of 2019, after multiple rounds of meetings among the Ministry of Commerce, the FBR, the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (MSA) as well as relevant competent departments of Pakistan.
