Recently, the National Logistics Corporation (NLC) of Pakistan carried out the first direct delivery of cargo to Tajikistan.
A batch of Pakistani potatoes travelled 1,400 km in just 7 days, reaching Dushanbe, Tajikistan’s capital, via a China-routed path bypassing Afghanistan.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan, the first direct shipment of cargo was carried out under the Agreement on Transit Trade between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Republic of Tajikistan, and the multilateral Transport Internationaux Routier (TIR) regime.
On the occasion of the arrival of a convoy of three trucks in Dushanbe on 1 April 2024, a welcoming ceremony was held at the Tajikvneshtrans terminal in Dushanbe, which was attended by high-ranking representatives of both countries and members of the local business community.
Minister of Transport of Tajikistan Azim Ibrokhim in his remarks, welcomed the NLC consignment and underlined that the arrival of the first cargo convoy from Pakistan to Tajikistan is the result of the implementation of agreements between the two friendly countries. He opined that this initiative would provide more opportunities for Tajikistan to access the seaports of Karachi and Gwadar.
In his speech, NLC CEO Farrukh Shehzad Rao announced that with the arrival of the first TIR shipment from Tajikistan to Pakistan, the NLC had now connected all Central Asian Republics to Pakistan. Referring to NLC’s strong credentials in multimodal logistics services, the Director General offered NLC services for facilitating trade between Pakistan and Tajikistan.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to Tajikistan Muhammad Saeed Sarwar noted Pakistan’s potential as a regional transport hub and trade center and invited Tajik merchants to take advantage of Pakistan’s seaports, which offer the most efficient, shortest and economical route to connect with markets in the Middle East and beyond.
After the reception ceremony, both sides held talks at the delegation level at the Ministry of Transport. The parties also signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the “National Logistics Corporation” of Pakistan and State Institution “Automobile Transport and Logistics Service” of Tajikistan to expand cooperation in the field of transport, logistics and transit trade.///nCa, 5 April 2024