ISLAMABAD – Pakistan has often relied on a few countries for most of theirtrade chiefly, China and the United States. This can adversely affect theeconomy if one or more of the trade partners are involved in a globalcrisis such as last year’s trade war or the current Coronavirus epidemic.
Pakistan’s trade diversification took promising steps this week with tradein several regions being improved as Bulgaria, Hungary and most recently,Uzbekistan signal strengthening trade ties.
Bulgarian Ambassador in Pakistan Aleksandar Parashkevov first expressed thenation’s interest in increasing trade between the two parties. He addressedthe members of the Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) andhighlighted the importance of enhancing mutual trade ties. “Both sides needto ponder on developing a strategy for bringing improvements,” he added.
Additionally, the Hungarian government through their Ambassador, IstvanSzabo, announced that the focus lies on collaborating on a range ofprograms with Pakistan including trade, education, public diplomacy andculture. He recognized that both countries have benefits that withincreased trade will be realized. Following the statement, a memorandum ofunderstanding (MoU) was signed between the Hungarian Ambassador and the AllPakistan Business Forum (APBF) in an effort to promote trade links betweenHungary and Pakistan.
Furthermore, earlier today, Uzbekistan became Pakistan’s main trade andeconomic partner in the Central Asian Repubics (CARs). The UzbekistanAmbassador in Islamabad, Furqat Sidiqov, announced that volume of bilateraltrade will be increased to 300 million US dollar from the current level ofnearly 125 million dollars as trade grows fast from previous years.
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Sidiqov went on to describe the importance of the sectors to activelyinvest in. He also recognized the importance of the business council andits efforts to solidify bilateral trade in both countries, “With the aid ofBusiness Council, we have organized more than 30 bilateral business visitsto Uzbekistan and Pakistan as well as organized 63 Pak-Uzbek businessforums in the cities Lahore, Sialkot, Faisalabad, Peshawar, Karachi,Multan, Rawalpindi, Swabi and others.”
With Uzbekistan prioritizing trade with Pakistan, and Bulgaria, Hungaryalso coming by to strengthen linkages, it is an interesting phase in thetrade outlook of the country.
The economy is indeed in a slump and if anything can improve the currentdire situation, it is trade, trade and more trade.
