Pakistan, China sign agreement to operationalise green channel at Sost-Khunjerab border

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China have signed an agreement to operationalise a green channel at the Sost-Khunjerab border for agricultural and allied products to facilitate bilateral trade. The agreement was signed online between the customs administrations of the two countries at the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Thursday. The Pakistani delegation was led by Member Customs (Operations) Syed Shakeel Shah, while the Chinese delegation was headed by Li Qinghua, deputy head of Urumqi Customs and director of Tashkurgan Customs. According to an official announcement, the agreement aims to establish a green channel for an agreed list of agricultural products, allowing eligible consignments to undergo priority processing and examination while maintaining risk-based customs controls.

The arrangement also provides for enhanced information sharing and the exchange of risk alerts between the two customs administrations to strengthen coordination and improve cross-border trade management. The agreement also provides for enhanced exchange of information and risk alerts between the two customs administrations to strengthen coordination and improve the management of cross-border trade. It further envisages priority handling of perishable consignments to minimise delays and ensure their timely movement across the border. The Pakistani delegation also included the chief collector of customs, Peshawar; the collector of customs, Gilgit-Baltistan; representatives of the Department of Plant Protection, NAFSA, Pakistan Single Window and the Ministry of Commerce; and the commercial counsellor at the Pakistan embassy in China. The operationalisation of the green channel is…