ISLAMABAD, April 30 (Xinhua) -- The first-ever containerized shipment from Pakistan's southern Karachi port left for Uzbekistan after getting clearance from the country's northwest Torkham border under the Transport Internationaux Routiers (TIR) rules, Abdul Razak Dawood, advisor to Pakistani prime minister on commerce and investment, said on Friday.

Calling the development "the beginning of a new era whereby there would be free movement of trucks between Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asian Republics (CARs)," Dawood said in a tweet that Pakistan's Ministry of Commerce had been working to open up trade with Uzbekistan and beyond since long.

A statement by the Ministry of Commerce said that the consignment consisted of herbal medicines and after completion of all custom formalities at Torkham on Thursday, it will reach its destination in Uzbekistan's Tashkent via Afghanistan.

Dawood attended a briefing by the Pakistani customs on recent developments in the trade and connectivity of Pakistan with the neighboring regions.

"At the outset, the advisor said that connectivity with trading partners is vital for viable trade relations. He said that the structure and efficiency connectivity networks enable access to markets and should be considered a facet of the trade competitiveness," the statement added.

He added that the Pakistani government is working to make the country a hub for trade, transit and transshipment by enhancing trade relations with landlocked Afghanistan and the CARs.

"The trade must be based on secure, open, consistent, reliable and legal movement of goods at the Afghan border along with enhanced connectivity with Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and CARs," Dawood said. Enditem

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