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'Pak, Asean states' economic ties to grow steadily'

RECORDER REPORT

KARACHI: Syed Amin Aljeffri, Chairman of Asean- Pakistan Business Council and Honorary Secretary General, ASEAN Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has expressed confidence that with continued efforts from both sides the trade and economic relations between Pakistan and Asean countries will grow steadily.

Speaking at the inauguration of the first meeting of Asean-Pakistan Joint Business Council (APJBC) at the Federation House on Monday, he said that there were many opportunities for business co-operation between Asean and Pakistan.

He said the recent financial crisis which affected many Asian countries, had underscored the importance of joint efforts and strategic partnerships to formulate effective policies and prepare our economies to face or mitigate the effects of future financial and economic uncertainties.

He said the Asean-Pakistan Business Council was able to hold its first meeting after several postponements due to unforeseen circumstances including the recent economic crises that had brought many financial hardship on Asean businesses. The financial constraints had forced the Asean private sector to concentrate on the business survival at home, he added.

Traiq Ikram, Minister of State and Chairman, Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) said that Pakistan would like to benefit from the experiences of Asean in order to further strengthen and cement the economic ties in the fields of trade agriculture, investment, industry and tourism.

He pointed out that out of 10 Asean countries, Pakistan had a trade imbalance with six countries which was indicative of the fact that there was a tremendous potential for Pakistan and Asean countries to develop mutually beneficial trade.

He said that in case of some of the countries, the total volume of bilateral trade ranged between $600,000 and $700 million. Of this almost half of the countries had a total trade of less than $10 million. This again showed that there existed a significant opportunity to increase the volume of trade between Pakistan and ASEAN countries.

Fazal-ur-Rehaman Dittu, President Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) said that the countries comprising Asean were potential markets for export of Pakistani products. Pakistan's export to Asean had been growing steadily , except during the period when the East Asian countries were in the grip of financial crisis. "We desire to increase substantially Pak export to the ASEAN countries and reduce dependence on the markets of west, particularly, Europe, said Dittu.

He proposed that trade fairs and exhibitions should be organised by Pakistan in the Asean countries, specially in products where we achieved value addition.

Ilyas Ahmed Bilour, Chairman, Asean-Pakistan Business Council, said Pakistan should aim at increasing the share of its total exports to Asean countries from the current five percent to about 15 percent to 20 percent.

He said that this target could be achieved only if Asean and Pakistan cooperated with each other on a wide range of issues in trade and industry.

Bilour said that Pakistan could benefit from the rich experience of Asean countries in the development of agro-based processing industries such as fruit canning and juice making. There was also good scope for collaboration in the fields of agriculture, textiles, petroleum refining, telecommunication, mining, construction and small scale industries, Bilour added