ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Commerce Syed Naveed Qamar met the Australian High Commissioner, both agreed to expand the bilateral trade up to its maximum potential.
The meeting was held in the Ministers’ Chamber at the Parliament House, Additional Secretary Commerce Ahsan Ali Mangi and Joint Secretary Dr. Adnan Ahmed also participated in the meeting.
Syed Naveed Qamar during the meeting with Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan, Neil Hawkins, remarked that the bilateral trade between Australia and Pakistan has not reached its original potential yet and Pakistan’s exports to Australia have been stagnant for many years.
The federal minister highlighted the tariff difference between export competitors, and problems faced by Pakistani exporters due to Pakistan’s developing country status in the Australian System of Tariff Preferences (ASTP).
Naveed Qamar also stressed on cooperating through technology transfer for developing food processing, dairy and cattle industries. The Australian High Commissioner agreed to enhance cooperation and bilateral trade, especially in agriculture, textiles and tourism sectors.
Both sides also discussed the possibility of preferential market access for Pakistan under formal arrangements such as Preferential Trade Agreements (PTA) and Free Trade Agreements (FTA).
