ISLAMABAD – Pakistan said it made substantial progress with Turkey on afree trade agreement (FTA) last week during a visit by Turkish PresidentRecep Tayyip Erdogan to the capital Islamabad.
According to Secretary of Commerce Ahmad Nawaz Sukhera, a delegation fromPakistan’s textiles sector will travel to Turkey in March ahead of theresumption of FTA negotiations.
Sukhera said on Twitter that both countries were in agreement to “surmountthe issue of being competitors” in textiles by finding ways to”collaborate.”
He added that the delegation would seek “ways of joining each other’s valuechains.”
Also, the two countries agreed to conduct a joint survey on a possible FTA,he noted.
“Strong political will have been shown by both the leaderships to increasecurrent trade level,” added Sukhera.
Earlier, Pakistan’s prime ministerial advisor on commerce and investment,Abdul Razak Dawood, said the two countries would begin talks to finalizethe FTA in April.
On Friday, Turkey and Pakistan inked several memorandums of understandingaimed at boosting bilateral trade, economic engagement and cultural andcommunication ties between Ankara and Islamabad.
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Addressing a joint Turkey-Pakistan Business Forum session in Islamabad lastFriday, President Erdogan said that the current trade volume of $804million between Pakistan and Turkey was not sufficient, adding thatbilateral trade must first rise to $1 billion and then to a target of $5billion.
For his part, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said his government woulddo everything possible to increase bilateral trade and investment.
“Ours is one of most business-friendly governments [in the region]. Iinvite Turkish businesspeople to invest in Pakistan. I can assure you thatwe will fully facilitate you,” Khan said while addressing thePakistan-Turkey Business Forum.
Khan also said Pakistan was keen to benefit from Turkey’s expertise indifferent sectors, particularly tourism, construction, healthcare andinformation technology.
“I have visited several tourist destinations in Turkey. The way Turkey hasdeveloped its tourism industry, especially in terms of infrastructure, issomething Pakistan can learn a lot from,” Khan said.
