RAWALPINDI: 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, observed Muhammad Aqil Nadeem, Pakistan Ambassador-designate to Indonesia while addressing business community at Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) here.
He said Indonesian Government has recently removed Pakistan from Calling Visa Country List after 13 years. “I must say a big achievement and this will increase people-to-people contacts, said Aqil Nadeem. He said the Indonesia and Pakistan will add more products to enjoy lower tariffs under the existing preferential trade agreement (PTA) between the two countries. The expansion of the items was approved after a recent review of PTA, he added.
He informed that Indonesia with 250 million population was the largest Muslim country and provided easy access to Pakistan to over $2 trillion ASEAN market. He said Pakistan could export many products to this huge market, especially Kino, surgical items, Poultry, textiles and pharmaceuticals and stressed that Pakistani businessmen should pay more attention to this important region for maximum exploitation of all untapped trade opportunities. 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, Zahid Latif Khan, 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 said Pakistan Embassy in Indonesia should share market study reports with major Chambers of Commerce of Pakistan so that our businessmen could step up efforts to fully explore potential business opportunities. He assured that RCCI would consider taking a trade delegation to Indonesia to explore new avenues of mutual cooperation between the two countries. Later RCCI President Zahid Latif Khan presented a memento to Aqil Nadeem. Senior vice President Nasir Mirza, Vice President Khalid Farooq Qazi, group leaders Sheikh Shabbir, Sohail Altaf, former presidents, among others were also present on the occasion.
