RAWALPINDI: Ambassador of Indonesia Iwan Suyudhie Amri has said relations between Indonesia and Pakistan are touching new horizons adding bilateral relations have seen marked improvement in all fields during the last couple of years. Indonesia along with ASEAN countries are huge markets with great potential for Pakistani products and businessmen should focus on these countries to promote trade and exports. He was addressing business community at Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) here on Saturday.
He informed that Indonesia will notify the inclusion of 20 additional tariff lines in the Pakistan-Indonesia Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) by the end of November. He said that Indonesia with 250 million population was the largest Muslim country and provided easy access to Pakistan to over $2 trillion ASEAN market.
The ambassador noted with satisfaction that relations between the two countries were heading in the right direction and hoped in coming days these relations would get a further boost. He also praised efforts of RCCI for contributing greatly towards strengthening of bilateral relations through business opportunity conferences and exhibitions. He assured full cooperation and assistance in upcoming International Rawal Expo 2019.
He also assured that his Embassy would share trade inquiries and business related information with RCCI so that its members could take advantage of the available opportunities for promoting trade and exports with Indonesia.
Speaking at the occasion, Malik Shahid Saleem, President, Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that Pakistan and Indonesia enjoyed cordial relations and there was a need to transform these good relations into thriving bilateral trade, investment and joint ventures between the two countries.
He said Pakistan and Indonesia have signed a Preferential Trade Agreement and volume of bilateral trade between the two countries has improved to $2.3 billion. However, there was plenty of scope to improve two way trade in many areas.
He said both countries should provide better market access to each other’s private sectors, grant more tariff concessions and remove all non-tariff barriers that will help in promoting bilateral trade up to actual potential. He assured that RCCI would consider taking a trade delegation to Indonesia to explore new avenues of mutual cooperation between the two countries. Senior vice President Muhammad Badar Haroon, Vice President Fayaz Qureshi, former president Raja Amer Iqbal, among others, were also present on the occasion.
