Trade is a lifeline for connectivity and exchange of goods, an effective monetary conduit, and historically, the most favoured commerce activity. Whether it is Export Trade, as in us sending our products for sale to other countries, or Import Trade, where it’s the other way round, or Entrepot Trade, which is commonly referred to as transhipment. My focus today is, therefore, on the combination of Trade and Transit, involving all three kinds of movement that can change the game for Pakistan’s economy and that must get its due attention. Pakistan’s strategic geographical positioning amidst the connecting corridors to Central Asian Republics (CARs), and common borders with Iran, Afghanistan, China, and India, potentially make it one of the most lucrative states to be a part of regional collaborative economic schemes. From the times of Alexander of Macedonia to the present, the trade routes now landing in Pakistan have been instrumental in shaping and reshaping the political map, enabling the region to be often quoted in history by trading merchants for its richness and magnificence of mountains, abundant rivers, fertile lands, and precious mines. Of these, the Silk Road (Karakoram Highway), Indus Highway, Grand Trunk Road, Makran Coastal Highway, and, of course, the Arabian Sea, through which Pakistan conducts maritime trade with the Persian Gulf and the wider world, have played the most significant role. Regional trade illustrates regional collaboration and cooperation, which is the epitome of connectivity for progress in today’s world. Pakistan has had its share of opportunities that, due to various reasons, could not translate into the desired outcomes. Initiatives like Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD), followed by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and then the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) – which was the evolved version of the RCD – could not work out as they were meant to. With sanctions on Iran, Turkey’s increasing focus on the European sector, and the war in Afghanistan creating roadblocks, ECO could not achieve its objectives, and SAARC continues to face its geo-political challenges. ASEAN’s example, on the other hand, is a great one for us as a model. We have seen how the economies of Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar have benefitted by being in collaboration with the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei. Being closely connected, they have achieved a GDP of USD 3.2 trillion. Pakistan needs to translate regional collaboration for the same kind of impact. The GoP must facilitate regional trade to a level that it becomes our saviour and guarantees future growth. Pakistan’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth is projected to slow down to 0.6% in FY2023, from 6% in the previous fiscal year, as the economy struggles to recover. Recovery through more loans will take us deeper into the debt pit, but initiatives supporting trade and investment may just be the ladder for us to climb out of the pit. Talking of trade and geography, the most important piece of paper that empowers this modality is the Transports Internationaux Routiers or International Road Transport license, commonly referred to as TIR, a hallmark for regional trade agreements, which enables goods to move under customs control across international borders without payment of duties and taxes that would normally be due. It provides the umbrella of expediency with security. Endorsed by the World Trade Order (WTO), TIR is considered a catalyst in economic growth and has been acknowledged as one of the most effective modes of implementation of the objectives of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) by the World Trade Organization (WTO). The first company in Pakistan to get this prestigious license was TCS, and given its expertise and experience in Logistics Management, the company stood strong as a viable set of wheels to take forward the TIR initiative. With the help of the Geneva-based International Road Transport Union, the Ministries of Commerce and Transport of Afghanistan, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Pakistan, and The Pakistan National Committee of the International Chamber of Commerce (PNC-ICC), TCS successfully took the Pakistan-Afghanistan corridor (route AH1), in April 2021, into Uzbekistan. By December 2021, after executing several TIR movements, it was evident that the Pakistan-Afghanistan corridor was creating value in bilateral and transit trade for the Central Asian Republics by way of shorter journey times and, in some cases, reduced costs. As a consequence of this value addition, TCS focused on consolidating the Central Asian Republics (CARs), primarily Uzbekistan, and subsequently opened a Limited Liability Company in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in December 2022. With a population of approximately 35 million people, Uzbekistan is one of the largest economies in Central Asia, with a Real GDP of USD 270 billion and Real GDP per Capita of USD 7,700 (2021 est.). According to official projections, by 2027, Uzbekistan intends to move approximately 7.5 million metric tons across the Pak-Afghan corridor, to trade with global and regional markets, translating roughly into a logistics spend of USD 1.5 billion or 340,000 container movements – a huge volume to work with! Uzbekistan’s traditional supply chains are under pressure – international sanctions on Russia, Covid-related congestion within China, and bureaucratic delays in Iran. This landscape allows the Pakistan-Afghanistan corridor to take a pole position as an alternative trade route, and in the process, create tremendous value for all stakeholders, provided the Government of Pakistan swiftly and permanently resolves issues and challenges at our seaports and Border Crossing Points, specifically Torkham. Since October 2022, TCS has transported more than 200 bilateral and transit trade containers into Uzbekistan, and barring minor procedural obstacles, a majority of them have reached their destinations within stipulated journey times, earning the confidence of both local and regional customers. Quoting Mr. Khalid Nawaz Awan, Chairman of TCS; “TCS has been a continuously evolving platform, with new initiatives being the norm. Having obtained the TIR license in 2018 as a Line of Business, the new geo-politic is presenting far greater opportunities in regional cooperation than were previously expected.” The World Bank Report (2020) states that Pakistan is one of the most favourable economies to work with. Given the required support obtained from both the public and the private interface, the TIR can translate into a booming economy. The potential is immense, and if put into full throttle, Pakistan will be out of its economic complexities in a short period. It is a crucial time, but we can still board this train. What will work? How can we compete better? Such questions need to be the driving commands with a focus on modalities and initiatives that can potentially change the game. With international gateways in all major cities and growing partnerships with China and the world, Pakistan needs to be vigilant and grab new opportunities for enhancing trade and commerce across the region and beyond. We must resolve issues in our ports, including congestion, delays in Customs, poor management at border terminals, inefficient logistics services, lack of sufficient warehousing, inadequate software support, inconsistent FBR policies, etc. More than anything else, we need the government to realize its role; backed by strong political will, the GoP must facilitate and enhance regional trade to a level that it becomes our saviour and guarantees future growth and prosperity. Pakistan, together with the Central Asian Republics and Afghanistan, can look at mutual progress, enabling the highway connecting Gwadar, Torkham, and Tashkent, to become a bolstering parallel to the historical Silk Road as a modern-day connector of the West with the East. The writer is a former bureaucrat having served in senior positions with TDAP, CCI&E, EPZA, TMR & NIP. He can be reached at nezb1956@gmail.com