JAKARTA: Pakistan’s acting Ambassador to Indonesia Faisal Fiaz has said that Pakistan had a promising scope to develop close cooperation with Indonesia and get an easy access to Indonesian and ASEAN markets as Indonesian economy was on a sustainable growth trajectory. He said that Pakistan-Indonesia bilateral trade in 2022 was around US$ 4.2 billion, which could be further improved by promoting business linkages between the private sectors of both countries.
He was talking to a delegation of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) led by its Vice President Engr Azhar ul Islam Zafar which visited the embassy in Jakarta. Muhammad Shabbir, Ch. Muhammad Ali, Hamayun Kabir, Chaudhary Javed Iqbal, Sheikh Muhammad Ejaz, Akhtar Hussain and others were in the ICCI delegation, said a news release.
The ambassador said in 2013, Pakistan had signed a preferential trade agreement with Indonesia and the business community should take full advantage of it to promote trade and exports with Indonesia. Faisal Fiaz lauded the ICCI delegation for participating in the 38th Trade Expo Indonesia Hybrid Edition 2023 and said that regular exchange of trade delegations was the best way to improve bilateral trade ties between the two countries.
He assured that the embassy would fully cooperate with the business community of Pakistan in exploring new avenues of trade promotion with Indonesia. Speaking on the occasion, Azhar ul Islam Zafar said that the purpose of ICCI delegation to visit Indonesia was to explore untapped opportunities of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
He said that Pakistan could export many products to Indonesia, including pharmaceuticals, surgical & medical equipment, footballs, and leather products.
Pakistan and Indonesia could also cooperate in many fields including tourism, IT, pharmaceutical, textile, cooking oil, mines & minerals, leather, e-commerce and others, he added. Azhar ul Islam Zafar said that the Pakistan Embassy in Indonesia should identify the demand of Pakistani products in Indonesia and share that information with chambers of commerce of Pakistan so that the business community could take advantage of them. ICCI delegation members also spoke on the occasion and shared useful ideas for further improving bilateral trade and economic relations between Pakistan and Indonesia.