ISLAMABAD – Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce, Industries andInvestment Abdul Razak Dawood on Thursday said that Pakistan desired toincrease trade and economic cooperation with African countries over thenext five years.
Speaking at the “Pak-Africa Trade Development Conference” held in Nairobi,Kenya, the adviser pointed out that the trade volume between Pakistan andAfrica had been nominal, which should be boosted.
He stressed that the conference, organised by the Ministry of Commerce, wasan important initiative to bring together businessmen from Africa under oneroof in order to explore and open new frontiers for enhancing trade.
“This conference will synergise our efforts to capitalise on the economicopportunities and is a testimony of our government’s strong commitment toenhance trade and economic cooperation with Africa,” he said.
“In 2018, Africa’s annual global trade was $1.075 trillion. However,Africa-Pakistan trade has remained stagnant at a meagre $3 billion for manyyears.”
The adviser revealed that bilateral trade crossed $4 billion only in thepast two years, reaching $4.28 billion in 2018-19, which was still afraction of the total trade.
“It’s time to unlock the true potential of our trade relations,” heremarked and saw a huge potential for trade between the two sides but “weneed to enhance connectivity with Africa”.
“I have a strong belief that trade and connectivity are the two sides of asame coin and it is not possible to have one without the other.”
Read Top Stories
The PM aide emphasised that reduction in tariff and non-tariff barriers byboth sides was also necessary, which would act as a catalyst foraccelerated growth in bilateral trade. The Ministry of Commerce hasformulated the “Look Africa Policy Initiative”, which has already been putinto motion and this is a reflection of Pakistan’s broader policy towardsAfrica.
“We need to exchange more manufactured and processed goods, ensure moretransfer of knowledge and create more value,” he said.
“Both sides need to accelerate export diversification and productsophistication and make our trade more inclusive. This will enable us toshift from over-dependence on commodities to higher value-added productsand services.”
It would also help to build resilience to movement in demand and fetchbetter prices.
“We are opening six new trade wings at our embassies in Africa whichinclude Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Senegal, Sudan and Tanzania,” the advisersaid.
He stressed that Pakistan was open to all proposals from the friends inAfrica.
