First consignment leaves for Turkey, Azerbaijan on NLC trucks

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Commerce said the National Logistics Cell (NLC) trucks left with a consignment for Turkey and Azerbaijan via Iran under the Transports Internationaux Routiers (TIR) convention on Friday.

The ministry apprised Adviser on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood about the milestone, which would enhance regional trade and connectivity and complement the Silk Route Reconnect policy.

The adviser was informed that one private sector company already has the license to operate under the TIR, while many private companies were also applying to get the permission to do so.

Dawood said, “The vision of the Ministry of Commerce is ‘Connectivity through Trucking’ and as a policy the government will support private sector in this regard.” Pakistan shares borders with Iran and Afghanistan, which are also TIR members.

He was informed that NLC would initially start its transportation operations with Turkey and Azerbaijan, later extending to other countries in the region.

“This will create opportunities for Pakistan's services sector, especially the logistics companies, due to the international trade traffic which will utilise Pakistan's geographic access. It is the key to make Pakistan a transit and transhipment hub and will attract investment in Pakistan’s logistics sector and associated services,” the adviser said.

NLC is the second operator in Pakistan, and the first in public sector, to begin its operations under TIR. It would also be the first time that Pakistan’s trucks would move through Iran under TIR.

Previously, goods had to be offloaded from Pakistan’s trucks and reloaded onto Iran’s trucks at the Taftan-Zahidan border.

The TIR is a highly secure international Customs transit system for goods’ international movement across frontiers of member countries.

It enables intermodal transportation with minimum interference, hence facilitating free flow of goods at competitive transport costs and with minimal physical inspection of goods. The system is based on TIR Carnet, which is a document issued under TIR for sealed road transport for each shipment enabling it to reach the destination country without customs inspection.

The NLC was awarded the TIR license by Pakistan National Authorization Committee (PNAC) of the International Transport Union (IRU), which administers the TIR Convention internationally.