Pakistan’s Private Sector Mobilized to Facilitate Trade Digitization
The government of Pakistan is accelerating digitization in trade, and it is requesting the private sector as well as the regulatory bodies to come on board and contribute to this significant process. It aims to integrate a complete system for cross-border trade that is fully automated and paperless.
Aftab Haider, CEO of Pakistan Single Window (PSW), presented these observations in a meeting with a delegation headed by Asif Parvez, CEO of Galaxefi. Galaxefi, a new digital trade solution, was presented as a game-changer in cross-border trade, providing real-time solutions that will enhance the whole process.
The theme of the meeting was how Galaxefi can revolutionize Pakistan’s trade infrastructure by providing real-time visibility, automating documentation, and streamlining logistics. In contrast to traditional systems that still incorporate manual methods, Galaxefi provides an efficient, stable, and secure solution.
The CEO of PSW praised Galaxefi’s role in digitizing trade and emphasized that PSW is committed to encouraging the private sector to adopt automated trade processes. While the government has made significant progress with initiatives like Digital Pakistan, Uraan Pakistan, and PSW, about 70% of the private sector—such as freight forwarders and service providers—still relies on outdated systems. This dependency causes inefficiencies and missed opportunities.
The manual processing of post-shipment documents and regulation compliance have long been key stumbling blocks towards eased trade and foregone income. While other nations implement real-time systems for refining their supply chain and making their transactions quicker, Pakistan would lose out unless it moves soon.
The event also underscored the importance of embracing new trade technologies, an important issue to be addressed during the forthcoming Pakistan Logistics and Shipping Summit (PLSS) 2025 in Karachi on February 20, 2025.
