The globalization of business and markets of the world is making it essential for all countries to conduct their international trade as per international practices based on standard documents and procedures adopted by the international community.

At present, Pakistan’s foreign trade is based on traditional trade and transport procedures and documents. This has resulted in additional costs, attributable to long lead times and wastage of already scarce resources. This contributes to the high overall cost of the exports and imports of the country. It has become important for Pakistan to adopt the international practices, if the country wants to play a significant role in the world trading community.

To achieve the objective of bringing the Pakistan’s foreign trade to the international standards the Ministry of Commerce, Government of Pakistan in collaboration with UNCTAD initiated the TRADE & TRANSPORT FACILITATION PROJECT. in 2001.

The objectives of the project were to improve Pakistan’s international competitiveness through simplified export and import documentary procedures, modernization of related legislation and creation of a national capacity to solve potential problems between the transport users and providers. This includes modernizing and updating Pakistan’s legal and institutional environment of trade and transport. It includes assistance to enhance and liberalize insurance and banking practices so as to make the Pakistani Industry more competitive vis-à-vis foreign competitors.

One of the project components looked in to creation of a well functioning refrigerated produce “cold chain” for the storage and transport of temperature-controlled cargos.

The other objective of the component was to create a competent cross-sectoral secretariat functioning with the NTTFC for all its members where trade and transport related problems, that may influence more than two parties, can be analyzed, practical solutions developed and presented to the NTTFC for Implementation and follow up.

The project objectives are defined as:

Objective I : Conduct Project workshops and conferences.

Objective II: Simplification of documents and procedures related to foreign trade transactions leading as appropriate to the introduction to the introduction of a single administrative document (SAD).

Objective III: Formulation and/or modernization as required of transport legislation.

Objective IV: modernization of commercial Documentary procedures covering the drafting of standards and conditions for the contracts of carriage of goods.

Objective V: modernization of freight forwarders, multimodal transport operators, and other intermediaries to raise their professional standards in accordance with international standards, in the areas of professional qualifications, financial qualifications and code of professional conduct.

Objective V1: modernization and liberalization of marine transport insurance provisions and policy conditions and practices.

Objective VII: Streamlining of financial and banking provisions related to foreign trade transactions including foreign-currency and letter-of-credit Provisions.

Objective VIII: Advice to Government of Pakistan on modernization, harmonization and simplification of Customs procedures in line with recommendations of the world Customs Organization, and on advantages/disadvantages of becoming contracting party to international conventions related to Customs, transport and trade.

Objective IX: Establishment of an operational Trade Point in Karachi and creation of awareness of the Trade Point concept with a view to setting up additional Trade Points in Pakistan.

Objective X: Institutional strengthening of the NTTFC, its Executive committee, its ad hoc Working Groups and it secretariat so that it will become a fully functioning institution and be able to coordinate its activities with key agencies participating in trade and transport.

Objective XI: Study of the capacity requirements and policies needed for promotion of refrigerated domestic transport and cold storage of fresh produce and the development of associated transport (trucking/rail)

Objective XII: Development of a team of local training managers in the field of trade facilitation and related subjects and assurance of deliveries of all training activities, conferences, seminar(s) and workshops.

Objective XIII: Assessment of the project and the likely changes in trade and transport facilitation and their logistics benefits accruing as a result of the project with recommendations for future work for the NTTFC.

This project was completed in 2006. To further facilitate trade and transport a follow up project named Trade and Transport Facilitation Project-2 has been commenced in 2010.

Its objectives are defined as follows:

Objective I: National Trade Facilitation Strategy and WTO commitments.

Objective II: WTO trade facilitation negotiations and regional cooperation mechanisms.

Objective III: Trade procedures analysis and corresponding capacity building

Objective IV: Trade, transport and transit operations analysis and corresponding capacity building.

Objective V: Trade information, education and communication (IEC).

Objective VI: Pilot project.

Objective VII: Benchmarking performance.

Objective VIII: Assessment of the project.