ISLAMABAD: The 5th round of negotiations between Pakistan and Thailand on Free Trade Agreement (FTA) would be held from 15-18 November, 2016 in Bangkok, Thailand.
While chairing a briefing on the status of FTA negotiations underway with Thailand, Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan said, “Along with negotiating FTA with Thailand, Pakistan is also looking to access a huge untapped market of the whole East Asian Region.”
The minister directed the Free Trade Agreement negotiating Team to address the concerns of the local industry in different sectors.
As per vision of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to access non-traditional trade markets of the world, liberalised trade environment will ensure sustained economic growth for Pakistan, he added.
The trade volume between Pakistan and Thailand was $952 million at the end of 2015-16, in which Pakistan exports were $107 million and imports were $845 million.
The exportable items to Thailand currently are fish and fish preparations, cotton fabrics for women, paper and paper board, raw cotton, cotton yarn, leather, medical and pharmaceutical products, the material of animal origin, medical and surgical instruments, chemical element and compounds.
From the same region, the minister said, Pakistan had already concluded successful Free Trade Agreements with Malaysia and Indonesia.
He also directed the negotiating team to jointly work with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to take joint position during next round of the FTA negotiations with Thailand.
Earlier, FTA chief negotiator Taimur Tajammal briefed the meeting on the state of negotiations with Thailand.
He said that Pakistan-Thailand Trade Negotiating Committees (PATHTNC) have held four rounds of negotiations since September 2015.
