USAID Pakistan Regional Economic Integration Activity ...

USAID Pakistan Regional Economic Integration Activity (PREIA)

Monthly Progress Report April 2018

USAID Pakistan Regional Economic Integration Activity (PREIA) USAID/Pakistan Office of Economic Growth & Agriculture Contract Number: AID-391-C-15-00012 Date of Publication: May 07, 2018 Disclaimer: This report is made possible by the support of the American people through the

United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the sole responsibility of DAI and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.

Pakistan Regional Economic Integration Activity (PREIA)

USAID Pakistan Regional Economic Integration Activity (PREIA)

Table of Contents

Activity Background ................................................................................................................................... 1

Activity Management and Support ........................................................................................................... 1

Staffing and Recruitment .......................................................................................................................... 1

Procurement and Operations ................................................................................................................... 1

Security and Risk Review ......................................................................................................................... 2

Technical Implementation.......................................................................................................................... 3

Component 1: Improved Business Enabling Environment ....................................................................... 3

Component 2: Improved Capacity to Access Regional Markets .............................................................. 5

Deliverables Completed............................................................................................................................ 9

Obstacles and Challenges ........................................................................................................................ 9

Forthcoming: Key Meetings and Events ................................................................................................. 10

List of Tables and Figures

Table 1: Deliverables submitted by PREIA during the reporting period ....................................................... 9


USAID Pakistan Regional Economic Integration Activity (PREIA) 1

Activity Background On September 1, 2015 DAI was awarded the five-year, $14.4 million, USAID Pakistan Regional

Economic Integration Activity (PREIA). PREIA aims to further the development of the country’s trade

sector by improving Pakistan’s competitiveness in regional markets and enhancing regional economic

integration with neighbours, such as Afghanistan and the Central Asian Republics (CARs). This

objective supports the achievement of Development Objective (DO) no. 2 from USAID/Pakistan’s

Mission Strategy: “Improving Economic Status of Focus Populations and Sectors.” Focusing primarily

on trade promotion and facilitation, PREIA will collaborate with public and private sector stakeholders

in Pakistan to improve the international trade environment, resulting in increased trade and transit

volumes. These new initiatives will complement the ongoing efforts of the Ministry of Commerce (MoC),

as reflected in the MoC’s current Strategic Trade Policy Framework (STPF) 2015-2018, and in the STPF

2018-2023 which is under development.

PREIA supports relevant public and private sector stakeholders in Pakistan to:

1) Augment the Government of Pakistan’s (GoP) ability to develop and implement reforms for

policies, laws and regulations (Component 1.1), and ultimately, to improve Pakistan’s trade

enabling environment;

2) Improve private sector and civil society’s engagement in policy-making (Component 1.2) for

inclusive, effective and transparent trade related policy development and implementation;

3) Improve regional trade and transit facilitation by Customs (Component 2.1) for increased

capacity to access regional markets; and

4) Establish regional business-to-business linkages (Component 2.2) for improved regional trade

and economic connectivity.

DAI is delivering PREIA’s results by developing complementary packages of assistance that reinforce

both, the supply and demand sides of economic growth, through four main instruments: Grants Under

Contract (GUC), programmatic Short-term Technical Assistance (STTA), Direct Distribution of Goods

and Services (DDGS), and training.

Activity Management and Support

Staffing and Recruitment

Progress made in the Human Resources (HR) and Recruitment department during April 2018 and the

joining dates/prospective joining dates are as follows:

Mr. Muhammad Saleem, Consultant – Customs Manual Development, May 01, 2018.

Procurement and Operations

GST Exemption: PREIA’s procurement and operations continued during the month of April

2018 and pro-forma invoices for a total of nine procured items/services were processed with

Economic Affairs Division (EAD), through USAID, to seek a GST exemption;

Hiring the Services of a Policy Specialist for the Delivery of Training on Policy Development

and Gender Analysis: Call for Expression of Interest (EoI) published for selection of consultant

to assist PREIA in the development of a training module, and to conduct single-day trainings in

three cities under PREIA’s cross-cutting Program entitled “Women Leadership in Trade Policy

(WLTP)”. The last date for submission of profiles is May 06, 2018 and the scope of the work

would be executed within July/August 2018, constituting 10 days of effort.

“Made in Pakistan” Trade Expo, September/October in Almaty, Kazakhstan: On April 05, 2018

Expression of Interest (EoI) - to create a shortlist of firms for reaching out to seek formal

proposals in organizing the “Made in Pakistan” Trade Expo, and ensure its successful

arrangement, execution and completion, was disseminated amongst the potential bidders. Last



date for the submission of companies’ profiles is April 19, 2018. The event will provide an

opportunity to Pakistani traders, manufactures and exporters to show case their products,

acquire more exposure, identify new business deals, opportunities and explore the potential of

new developing markets of Central Asian Region.

Analysis Report on Back-End Business Processes of the various Other Government

Authorities (OGAs): As a part of PREIA’s effort in supporting FBR/Pakistan Customs in

transitioning towards an electronic National Single Window (NSW) for trade, and in order to

realize the full potential of the NSW, an Expression of Interest (EoI) was published locally and

internationally on April 29, 2018 to hire the services of an individual or consulting firm that can

conduct a thorough back-end business processes review of Other Government Authorities

(OGAs) involved in NSW and subsequently standardize and align the processes with the

envisaged NSW environment. The last date for submission of profiles is May 13, 2018.

Security and Risk Review The overall security situation improved in the country with all provinces showing various levels of

reduction in the number of fatalities resulting from violence. Although the military operation is nearing

conclusion, the operation in Karachi continues and may be further extended because of incidents of

violence in the city. Many districts of Baluchistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) have become frequent

targets of militancy, where security personnel and policemen were primarily targeted by militants. While

on the surface the situation seems to be improving, it must be said that progress on several points in

the National Action Plan remains abysmal. Pakistan has gotten increasingly proficient at physical

destruction of militant hideouts, weapon caches and arresting/killing the criminal element, but the

ideology that fuels it continues to create divides. Unless this ideology is targeted through a focused

approach and propelled by political will, the temporary relief may be short-lived. It is undeniable that the

security operations being carried out by law enforcement agencies are producing results. However, the

issue of extrajudicial killings, unchecked religious zealotry, and continued presence of militants

continues to threaten the peace, stability and security of the country.

Pakistan’s relationship with India and Afghanistan experienced hiccups as the neighbouring country

continued accusing Pakistan for providing militant sanctuaries. Pakistan’s military rejected these

accusations, stating “terrorists of all hues and colours” had been defeated in the troubled areas, and a

few disorganized residual militants were being pursued under Operation Radd-ul-Fasad. Relations

between India and Pakistan are still in a stalemate on the eastern border. The latest unprovoked

ceasefire violations by Indian troops along the Line of Control (LoC) and working boundary have

resulted in a number of civilian causalities including women and children.

Pakistan’s security situation in the forthcoming months is assessed to remain sensitive. Combing

Operations by Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) against militants is ongoing which could result in

retaliation by militant groups, and that could target sensitive installations and public places. PREIA’s

security maintains regular interaction with informative networks to remain as vigilant as possible.

PREIA’s security team’s mission is to protect its staff by minimizing preventable risk which will enable

implementation of project activities safely. This is ensured through sharing of incidents (as and when

they occur), staff awareness on security policy/SOPs in case of security threats and a regular update

on security situation through security advisories to mitigate the risks. A proactive security approach is

adopted using security groups, networks and open source media monitoring. PREIA believes that a

high standard of security risk management is necessary to achieve excellent service delivery in the

challenging environments across the country. This policy defines the Project’s commitment to protecting

the staff (national & expatriate), assets, and reputation from harm, and minimising the impact on

business in the case of an incident.



Technical Implementation

Component 1: Improved Business Enabling Environment Support to Trade Dispute Resolution Organization (TDRO) – Development of the Trade Dispute

Resolution Commission (TDRC) Act 2018

PREIA is supporting TDRO in the development of the organization’s rules, regulations and by-laws, and

in the revision of the Trade Dispute Resolution Commission (TDRC) Act. In continuation of its ongoing

technical support, PREIA held a number of consultations with Trade Dispute Resolution Organization,

RIAA Barker Gillette (RIAABG) - the firm contracted to draft the Trade Dispute Resolution Commission

Act 2018 - and Ministry of Commerce. The coordination meetings provided an opportunity for PREIA

counterparts, i.e. MoC and TDRO, to provide feedback and comments for refinement of the draft act

prior to its final submission to the Secretary of Commerce for concurrence.

On April 18, 2018 PREIA, RIAABG and TDRO presented the draft TDRC Act to the Secretary

Commerce. The Secretary Commerce initiated discussion on the TRDC Act 2018 by referring to a

meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee Session on the draft TDRC Act, which was

submitted by TDRO for the Committee’s review without informing PREIA or RIAABG. The Committee

had some observations and reservations on the version submitted by TDRO, relating to the

administrative functioning of the commission e.g. the number of members of the commission, the

qualification criteria and the number of members which would constitute a quorum.

The Secretary Commerce expressed his displeasure upon learning that PREIA’s consultants were not

consulted before the meeting of Standing Committee and advised TDRO to ensure close and timely

coordination with PREIA and RIAABG for all future exercises. The Secretary Commerce also agreed to

the recommendations put forth by PREIA’s Consultant RIAABG with regards to the eligibility criteria for

the appointment of the Commission and the role of MoC. After incorporating the Secretary Commerce’s

decisions with regards to certain articles of the draft Act, RIAABG, through PREIA, has submitted a

revised draft TDRC Act 2018 for MoC’s concurrence. Going forward, in May 2018, PREIA will schedule

a meeting with the Additional Secretary of MoC to discuss and finalize the draft law, for onward

submission and legislative processing in FY2018 Quarter 3. It is expected that the draft law would be

passed by July/August 2018.

Support to the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) – Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) of the

Commercial/Trade Officers’ Program

In July 2017, PREIA was requested by the MoC to help improve the performance appraisal system for

its Commercial/Trade Officers (CO/TO) posted abroad. The contours of the support included an

assessment of the existing performance report templates, the Business Process Mapping (BPM) of all

relevant workflows, defining the Ministry’s approved Key Performance Indicator (KPI), and developing

M&E tools that could aid the improvement of how the efficacy of the Government’s Cos’/TOs’ service

delivery could be monitored and measured in an objective and fair manner. Upon the request of the

focal person for the activity, Ms. Maria Kazi (Joint Secretary in charge), PREIA developed a presentation

on the key findings, gaps and recommendations of the review process conducted by PREIA, which was

presented to the Additional Secretary and the Joint Secretaries of all Foreign Trade (FT) Wings at the

MoC on April 19, 2018.

The recommendations presented to the MoC mainly consisted of improvements in the Business

Processes, agreeing on standard definitions for KPIs, maintaining a dashboard to track punctuality of

report submission, and charting feedback as well as progress against KPI measures on a single,

centralized repository. The central repository – as proposed by PREIA – could also serve to solicit

consent or feedback from the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), FT Wings, Head of



Mission, and the Secretary Commerce on key performance appraisal stages including the finalization

of the TO’s Annual Business Plan, documentation of performance targets, and the documentation of

achievements, among others. PREIA explained its proposed reform recommendations and the benefits

that could be derived from implementing the proposed changes. Having gathered initial feedback from

the MoC, PREIA will now be holding separate coordination meetings with all FT Wings individually, so

that a second draft of the report entitled “Assessment of Trade Officers’ Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E)”

may be resubmitted to the MoC in May/June 2018.

Public-Private Dialogue Fora (PPDF) on Trade Policy

In an effort to encourage discussion on trade policy issues among public and private sector

stakeholders, PREIA plans to support Pakistan’s leading academic and research institutions in the

development of a Public Private Dialogue Forum (PPDF) as part of its Grants under Contracts

(GUC)/Activity Fund Component. Through the reporting month, PREIA held a series of introductory

meetings with several institutions that had earlier been shortlisted in a competitive process as potential

grantees, and completed the first round of evaluations for each of the four (04) shortlisted institutions,

which included the Pakistan Research Institute of Market Economy (PRIME), Sustainable Development

Policy Institute (SDPI), Baluchistan University of Information and Technology Engineering &

Management Sciences (BUITEMS), and Karakorum International University (KIU). Moving forward with

the process, in May 2018, PREIA will conduct a technical due diligence and financial proposal review

of the four organizations to finalize the selection of its grantees.

Under the PPDF, PREIA has also recruited the research services of Sustainable Development Policy

Institute (SDPI) to develop a series of 04 (four) quarterly bulletins on trade. The “Quarterly Trade

Bulletins” (QTBs) – initially planned through February 2019 – are designed as a corrective measure to

address the gaps in publically available information on the trade environment by providing

comprehensive analyses of Pakistan’s trade performance, trade trends, import/export potential and the

impact of policy measures taken by the Government of Pakistan (GoP). The QTB, through its

assessment of qualitative and qualitative data, is thus expected to aid the decision making process of

public and private stakeholders by regularly identifying key markets and products, highlighting

opportunities for economic growth, and predicting the economic impact of the country’s existing

circumstances. With an agreement on the contents and timelines for the deliverable, the drafting of the

first QTB was initiated in April 2018 and is expected for finalization and publishing in May 2018.

Women Leadership in Trade Policy (WLTP) Program – Cycle II Development

During April 2018, PREIA finalized the training plan for Cycle II of the Project’s gender initiative entitled

the “Women Leadership in Trade Policy (WLTP) Program.” The meetings held in prior weeks with

private establishments such as WeCreate Pakistan and National University of Sciences and Technology

(NUST)/Technology Incubator Centre (TIC), and with the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) assisted in

shaping the structure of the upcoming trainings. The Call for Applications was finalized and advertised

on April 27, 2018, with the deadline of May 27, 2018. The team will initiate and complete its outreach

across Islamabad/Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Karachi, Lahore and Quetta in May 2018, to create

awareness on the program and ensure all relevant applications are received. The capacity building

trainings are expected to be delivered during July-August 2018.

Session on Trade and Gender

In addition to the capacity building trainings, PREIA will collaborate with Pakistan Institute of Trade and

Development (PITAD) to hold a “Consultative Session on Trade and Gender” in July 2018. This seminar

will be an effort to bring together both the public and private sector to discuss what next steps are

needed to legislate policy and action towards gender mainstreaming in policy making. PREIA initially

met with PITAD on April 03, 2018, and followed up with a proposal for collaboration on April 17, 2018.

PREIA also met with the Director General, PITAD, on April 25, 2018, who concurred on the importance



of exploring gender inclusion in the trade policy dialogue and agreed to hold this seminar jointly, with

the proposed date of July 05, 2018. PREIA and PITAD will discuss logistics and finalize the agenda

during May 2018.

Component 2: Improved Capacity to Access Regional Markets Introduction of a National Single Window (NSW) Environment for Customs

The National Single Window (NSW) environment is an instrumental trade facilitation tool that brings all

trade regulators and stakeholders under one platform, enabling traders to file goods declaration

documents through a single entry point and meeting all clearance requirements in a seamless manner.

The introduction of such a facility is also recommended for implementation by the World Customs

Organization’s (WCO) Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC) and World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Trade

Facilitation Agreement (TFA) as an effective measure for reducing the time and costs of doing business.

In April 2018, PREIA supported the following efforts to facilitate and expedite NSW implementation

efforts being led by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR)/Pakistan Customs’ Program Management

Office (PMO).

1. Strategy Document and Stakeholders Conference: PREIA is supporting FBR/Pakistan

Customs in transitioning towards a trade and transport related National Single Window (NSW)

environment. Part of this support includes technical assistance for drafting a Strategy Document

comprising of an NSW Blueprint and Implementation Framework. PREIA had earlier contracted

Crimson Logic to develop the document. Subsequent to the sharing of the draft strategy

document with key stakeholders during the NSW Implementation Conference on March 7-8,

PREIA, FBR/Pakistan Customs, PREIA, and Crimson Logic had revised the strategy document

to incorporate all stakeholder feedback received during and after the Conference. PREIA and

FBR/Pakistan Customs also worked towards the finalization of Terms of Reference (ToRs) for

the NSW National Steering Committee and Working Groups.

One of the recommendations presented in the NSW Strategy Document is for the development

of a "vision/ position paper" for proper dissemination of clear information with regards to the

vision, objectives, and value propositions, impacts and benefits of the NSW to all stakeholders.

PREIA is supporting the NSW PMO in developing the Vision paper. Once finalized, the paper

will be circulated amongst all stakeholders including the private sector.

With the revised NSW Strategy document and ToRs submitted to the Prime Minister’s (PM)

office for approval on April 04, 2018, PREIA expects that the documents will receive PM

consent within the month of May 2018. The approval would also lead to a formal notification of

an NSW Steering Committee by FBR/Pakistan Customs, an additional activity milestone which

is also expected for realization in May 2018.

PREIA also developed and submitted to USAID Training for Pakistan (TFP) Project a Post

Event Report on the NSW Conference (March 7-8, 2018) on March 29, 2018 which was

finalized and submitted by TFP to USAID on April 27, 2018.

2. NSW Situation Analysis Report (SAR): Crimson Logic submitted Part II of the NSW Situation

Analysis Report (SAR). The report is in continuation of the NSW Situation Analysis Part I which

was initiated in November 2017, and includes all public sector stakeholders that could not be

covered during the first phase of the review process. In total, the SAR analyses 29 authorities

regulating trade including various customs divisions, Ministry of Commerce, Pakistan Revenue

Automation Ltd. (PRAL), Ministry of National Food Security & Research, Textile Division,

Ministry of Industries & Production, Pakistan Standards Quality Control Authority (PSQCA),

shipping agents and clearing agents, among others. The Report also makes recommendations



- based on certain pre-determined criteria – pertaining to the inclusion/exclusion of each

regulatory agency in the phased implementation of the NSW environment. PREIA also provided

its feedback on the SAR to Crimson Logic during the reporting period prior to its finalization.

3. Technical Support – IT: Information Technology (IT), including system architecture and design,

forms an important component of the NSW project. PREIA has been supporting the NSW PMO

in creating and developing linkages with the local IT industry with a view to create greater

ownership amongst local companies on NSW, and to explore ways of possible collaboration

between FBR/Pakistan Customs and the local IT sector on various IT related components of

NSW. As such, and on PREIA’s initiative, the NSW Program Management Office (PMO) at

FBR/Pakistan Customs through Pakistan Software Houses Association (P@SHA) invited local

IT companies to present on possible areas of public-private collaboration for NSW

implementation. The first such meeting was held on April 11, 2018 at FBR House in Islamabad

wherein a presentation was given by Info Tech - one of the leading IT companies in the country

– on how synergies may be created to maximize the efficiencies of Pakistan’s NSW

environment for goods clearance. The presentation helped the NSW PMO gain an

understanding of key IT areas that will have to be addressed in ensuring the smooth

implementation of NSW. Technical issues ranging from data storage options, data center

locations and configurations, and anticipated cost estimates on developing and operating the

NSW were also discussed in detail.

In addition to the above, On Aril 10, 2018 PREIA supported a PMO presentation on various IT

related issues pertaining to the NSW’s system design, and potential impact on that NSW would

have on the existing functionalities of the Web Based One Customs (WeBOC) system for goods

clearance. The presentation raised a number of questions that Customs needs to resolve

before finalizing the NSW system architecture, particularly in areas where certain purviews are

shifted from WeBOC to an NSW environment. It was agreed that an independent evaluation

needs to be undertaken to ascertain the NSW’s impact on WeBOC. PREIA has suggested that

the PMO identify and define the scope of work for this activity after which it can be internally

reviewed by PREIA and also shared with other development partners, for technical support.

4. Technical Support – Assessment of Other Government Agencies (OGAs): PREIA has agreed

to solicit consultancy services for the process mapping and data standardization of Other

Government Agencies (OGAs) involved in NSW. In April, PREIA finalized the pre-solicitation

notices to determine the qualification/capability of local and international vendors interested in

undertaking the task, which was shared with USAID DOCS and subsequently published in

national print media and international web portals on April 29, 2018. It is expected that a suitable

firm will be selected within May 2018.

5. Capacity Building – Study Tour: A key recommendation presented in the NSW Strategy

Document is for the NSW PMO to lead a delegation focused towards learning the technical

intricacies involved in the successful implementation of a NSW environment. In response to the

recommendation, FBR/Pakistan Customs has sought USAID/PREIA support for the

organization of an NSW Study Tour for 15-20 GoP officials to Singapore, tentatively from

September 03-08, 2018. The tour will provide an opportunity for key government officials to

observe NSW in operation and gain valuable insight into how OGAs and Customs authorities

in Singapore have adapted to, evolved, and improved NSW operations vis-a-vis increasing

trade and technological developments. A Concept Note specifying the objectives, goals,

expected outcomes, and estimated budgets for the Study Tour was submitted to USAID on

April 27, 2018.



Implementation of the Transports Internationaux Routiers (TIR) Convention

The Transports Internationaux Routiers or the International Road Transport (TIR) is a United Nations

(UN) sponsored Convention signed in 1975 under the auspices of the United Nations Economic

Commission for Europe (UNECE). The Convention provides for a transit facility that exempts goods

and transport units from import duties/taxes while transiting through the territories of the contracting

parties. In July 2015, Pakistan acceded to the TIR Convention and deposited the instrument of

accession to the Secretary General of the United Nations, thereby committing to implement the TIR

Convention from January 2016. With Pakistan’s TIR Rules approved by the Chairman, FBR/Pakistan

Customs in October 2017, PREIA continued its technical and capacity building support in the effective

and efficient implementation of the Convention.

On April 04, 2018 PREIA met with officials from Mott McDonald Pakistan to discuss progress on future

collaboration for the implementation of the TIR Convention in Pakistan. During the meeting, the

proposed awareness and outreach plan developed by PREIA was discussed. It has been mutually

decided that a total of 08 trainings will be delivered across Pakistan in order to train officials from

FBR/Pakistan Customs and obtain feedback regarding the possible benefits of TIR from other

stakeholders involved in trade and transport operations. The first outreach session will be held from

May 10-11, 2018 in Karachi, followed by a second session in Quetta immediately after Eid-ul-Fitr, in

June 2018.

In addition, on April 6, 2018 Pakistan Customs also formally completed its compliances on TIR

implementation with the International Road Transport Union (IRU), specifically with regard to stamps

and seals required for the movement of cargo. Subsequently, on April 19, 2018 Pakistan was officially

declared a TIR compliant country by IRU. The declaration comes as a key achievement for Pakistan in

facilitating cross border trade and will be strengthened with PREIA’s upcoming capacity building

commitment to key stakeholders in the public and private sectors.

Compilation of Customs Manuals

During the reporting period, PREIA interviewed a potential candidate for the development and

upgradation of FBR/Pakistan Customs’ operations manuals, Mr. Mohammad Saleem. PREIA has

verified that the candidate possesses intensive experience and knowledge of Customs procedures, has

initiated the recruitment process and submitted the individual’s vetting information to USAID. Updating

Pakistan’s Customs Manuals based on a thorough mapping and documentation of current processes,

it is hoped, will promote transparency amongst Customs stakeholders, increase performance

accountability of Customs officials and benchmark current practices to identify compliance risks.

In addition, on April 24 2018, PREIA received the revised versions of the remaining two chapters of the

customs manuals from the outgoing consultant on manuals, Ms. Naghma Tehniat. The two chapters

have been revised in line with feedback provided by PREIA earlier. PREIA’s contract with the consultant

has now been concluded.

Made in Pakistan Expo 2018

PREIA, in collaboration with the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), is preparing to

organize a “Made in Pakistan” Exhibition in Almaty, Kazakhstan during September/October 2018. This

will be a second single-country exhibition after the inaugural “Made in Pakistan” Expo that PREIA had

organized in collaboration with Haripur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI) and TDAP in

Almaty during November 2016. The Second Expo scheduled to be held in September/October 2018

also ensures a cost-sharing arrangement with PREIA’s key collaborator, i.e. TDAP.

During the month of April, after having generated a requisition for the Event Manager, PREIA internally

developed a two-staged process for its procurement; 1) Assessing an existing list of event managers



against the Expression of Interest (EoI) which defined the basic eligibility criterion and 2) sharing the

Request for Proposal (RFP) with the qualifying pool of event managers. PREIA completed the first step

in the week of April 23, 2018 and is now in the second phase of calling proposals.

With respect to continuing collaborative efforts with TDAP, PREIA received: 1) a written consent of

TDAP’s agreement to bear the logistics cost of two 40-feet containers from Islamabad to Almaty, 2) a

newly designated team from TDAP to be the point of contact for PREIA. On April 24, PREIA met with

the new team in Karachi to decide on a way forward and present updates regarding the Dissemination

of information about the Exhibition, Advertising & Marketing, Selection of Dates, Duration of the

Exhibition, Cultural Integration, Logistics Company, Event Management Company, Fee and Collection,

Visa Facilitation, Inauguration Ceremony, Responsibility Matrix, Seminars and Business Opportunities

Forum. Both parties have also reached an agreement on the participation fee that is to be charged from

the participants. TDAP has communicated its interest to arrange business opportunity related seminars

and cultural integration programs on the sidelines of the exhibition, for which an estimated proposal is

expected to be shared with PREIA. Preparations for the Made in Pakistan Expo 2018 will continue

through the coming months.

Pakistan-Afghanistan Transit and Trade - Special Working Group Meeting

On the directives of USAID, PREIA has been working on organizing a special working group meeting

in Islamabad on May 7, 2018 for the USAID Assistant Administrator. The purpose of the event is to

provide the USAID Assistant Administrator an overview of the bilateral and transit trade relations

between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The overview will include presentations of the trade and transit

trends, key challenges and potential next steps to improving trade and transit relations, while

maintaining focus on Pak-Afghan bilateral trade and transit trade. PREIA will also facilitate an open

discussion with selected stakeholders representing traders, clearing agents, producers and transporters

actively engaged in Pak-Afghan trade.

PREIA has selected eight representatives from: Pakistan Afghanistan Joint Chamber of Commerce and

Industry (PAJCCI), Pak-Afghan Transit and Trade Clearing Agents Group, Chaman Chamber of

Commerce and Industry, Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), Global Alliance for

Improved Nutrition (GAIN), Agility Logistics, Bio Labs and Asia Fans and Home Appliances.

Prospective Collaboration with the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry

(FPCCI)

On April 24, 2018 PREIA met with Mr. Iqbal Thaheem, Secretary General - FPCCI, who is part of the

Secretariat which is a more permanent part of the overall organizational structure. The purpose of the

meeting was to explore opportunities for collaboration and diversification of PREIA’s stakeholder base.

The meeting was a productive one, reflecting keen interest from FPCCI to work with PREIA given the

relevance of the Chamber’s functioning in match-making of businesses categorized by industry and

geography. FPCCI’s membership base includes Chambers and Associations which gives it direct

access to industry insight. PREIA gauged FPCCI’s interest in collaborating on the upcoming Made in

Pakistan Exhibition 2018, to which FPCCI has agreed. Going forward, PREIA will invite FPCCI for an

introductory meeting with the project’s leadership to build a productive relationship through Project

Years 4-5 (2018-2020).

Dawn Agri Expo, Lahore

PREIA has made all necessary arrangements to participate in the upcoming Dawn Agri Expo 2018 on

May 3-4, 2018. The expo will have a pavilion showcasing USAID and USDA projects, as well as Foreign

Commercial Service. The communication material and logistics arrangements were finalized during

April. Specifically for the communication aspect, PREIA developed social media content (e.g. tweets),

shortlisted pictures and designed project leaflets to showcase the Project to the audience.



Deliverables Completed In April 2018, PREIA submitted the following deliverables:

Table 1: Deliverables submitted by PREIA during the reporting period

Ref # Deliverable Title Submitted on

1 Four (04) Weekly Information Memos April 03-24, 2018

2 Quarterly Progress Report (January-March 2018) April 15, 2018

3 Reporting of Host Government Taxes for USAID/Pakistan April 16, 2018

4 Presentation: Trade officers Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) April 19, 2018

5 [Contracted Firm Deliverable by RIAABG] Trade Dispute Resolution Act

(TDRA) 2018 Working Draft April 19, 2018

6 Concept Note: NSW study tour to Singapore April 27, 2018

7 Terms of Reference: National Single Window Working Groups April 27, 2018

8 Post Event Report: NSW Stakeholders Conference (March 7-8, 2018)*

*submitted by TFP April 27, 2018

9 Post Event Report: Strategic Trade Policy Framework (STPF) Consultations April 27, 2018

10 Quarterly Performance Review of Indicators (FY2018 Quarter 2) April 30, 2018

Obstacles and Challenges

Obstacles/Challenges Resolution/Next Steps Required to remedy

Lengthy vetting procedures and Geo code waivers

applicable to PREIA vendors, such as InterAnalysis –

the vendor selected to build the capacity of MoC

officers on Trade Data Analysis – have delayed

PREIA’s commitments to a timely delivery of tasks

and may strain the Project’s relations with its

counterparts

PREIA has requested its Contract Officer’s

Representative (COR) at USAID to expedite

approvals, where possible. It is hoped that the

delivery of the Data Analysis Trainings may be

concluded within Project Year 3, as committed

In general, response from Pakistan Custom/FBR has

been slow during the reporting month owing to

unavailability of customs officials due to their

preoccupation with preparations for the annual

budget for FY 2018-19 which was announced on 27

April 2018

PREIA rescheduled relevant meetings and activities

accordingly

The first of a series of 'awareness and feedback'

sessions on TIR that was earlier planned to be held

at Quetta from 7-8 May 2018 has been postponed

due to unavailability of training halls at the Serena

Hotel

The training will now be held immediately after Eid-ul-

Fitr, in June 2018. Preparations are underway in

collaboration with Mott McDonald

Inland Revenue, Islamabad declined PREIA’s Zero

Rated requests for a local vendor based on the fact

that “they are not for the current month” and advised

expediting the approval process with Economic

Affairs Division to a month time of the date of pro-

forma invoice

The matter has been escalated to USAID to solicit

clarity from GoP counterparts. A request for cost

allowability approval for the ten rejected GST

Exemption cases (PKR 542,774) have been

submitted to the Contract Officer’s Representative

(COR) at USAID

TDAP has recently designated a new team as

PREIA’s contact point for collaboration regarding the

Made in Pakistan Exhibition 2018. PREIA was

previously coordinating with the TDAP Islamabad

PREIA immediately arranged for a meeting with the

team in Karachi and oriented it with the working

protocols in general, the progress made so far and

developed consensus on the following steps



office. This surfaced the need for starting afresh with

the team in terms of orienting it with PREIA’s working

procedures, bringing it up-to-date with the progress

made so far and developing a working rapport from

scratch

Difference in pace of work with reference to TDAP for

the upcoming Made in Pakistan exhibition. TDAP’s

procedural timelines are long when compared to that

of PREIA. E.g. The approval process from TDAP for

sponsoring logistics for the exhibition took

approximately two months

PREIA is working on a roles and responsibility matrix

along with timelines. This matrix will also be shared

with TDAP to get its buy-in so that both parties attain

clarity on the expected tasks

Forthcoming: Key Meetings and Events

May 3rd – 4th: PREIA participation at the Dawn Agri Expo in Lahore;

May 7th: Pakistan-Afghanistan Transit and Trade – Special Working Group Meeting in

Islamabad;

May 8th: Meeting with Mr. Muqarram Jah Ansari, Director General (Reforms & Automation),

Pakistan Customs to discuss progress on the Authorized Economic Operators

(AEO) Program, and possible next steps for PREIA’s assistance in this regard;

May 10th-11th: Joint Mott McDonald-PREIA awareness session on TIR Convention in Customs

Directorate General of Training, Karachi;

May 14th: Meeting with ABACUS consulting to discuss possible collaboration on NSW related

ICT initiatives in Islamabad;

May TBC: Meeting with FBR’s NSW PMO team to discuss progress on different NSW

initiatives;

May TBC: Meeting with Mr. Wajid Ali, Director (Reforms & Automation), FBR to expedite

progress on pending activities including ISO Certification;

May TBC: Meeting with FBR officials engaged with TIR to discuss progress and next steps

for TIR implementation in Pakistan;

May TBC Meeting with FBR’s focal person for Customs Manuals, Mr. Ashhad Jawwad in

Karachi to resume work on Customs manuals;

June TBC: Joint Mott McDonald-PREIA awareness session on TIR convention in Quetta;

July 5th: Consultative Seminar on Trade and Gender;

Sept/Oct TBD: 2nd Made in Pakistan Expo 2018 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

USAID Pakistan Regional Economic Integration Activity ...

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