Islamabad: Pakistan and its close ally Turkiye on Friday inked a preferential trade agreement aimed at opening up market access worth USD 7.5 billion for Pakistani goods, a deal hailed by Islamabad as “a great moment and a milestone in bilateral relations.
The Trade in Goods Agreement’ was signed by Pakistan’s Minister of Commerce Syed Naveed Qamar and Turkish Minister of Trade Mehmet Mus at a ceremony held at the Prime Minister’s Office here.
According to a statement, the agreement is an important breakthrough in improving the economic relations between the two countries.
Under the Agreement, Pakistani exporters will have market access in Turkiye in 261 Tariff Lines covering both agriculture and the industrial sector, it said.
The Turkish import market in the sectors covered under the agreement amounts to USD 7.6 billion highlighting the significant potential for Pakistan’s exporters to increase their market share, it said.
Pakistan is already exporting USD 5.1 billion to other countries in the products covered by the Pakistan-Turkiye Trade in Goods Agreement and it is important that exporters utilise the concession under the agreement and increase their exports to Turkiye.
The signing of this agreement will increase the competitiveness of Pakistan’s exporters and provide them with better market access compared to regional competitors.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who was present at the signing ceremony, termed the agreement a great moment and a milestone in the historic relations between Pakistan and Turkiye.
Earlier during the negotiations, the Ministry of Commerce carried out extensive consultations with the private sector to ensure that input from domestic industry is incorporated and reflected in the agreement.
The trade agreement was the key agenda during the recent visit of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif to Turkiye in May this year when the leadership of both countries expressed keen interest in expediting and concluding the negotiations by July 2022.
Prime Minister Sharif congratulated Minister for Commerce Qamar for providing excellent leadership in concluding the agreement and lauded the efforts of the Ministry of Commerce of Pakistan and the Ministry of Trade of Turkiye, who also expeditiously worked on their side on the directions of President of Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Minister Qamar hoped that the agreement would not only pave the way for further enhancing trade and investment between the two countries but would also strengthen the already existing friendly ties.
Pakistan’s goods exports in the fiscal year 2022 reached a historic high of USD 31.76 billion and it is a key policy objective of the Ministry of Commerce to promote sustainable export growth through better market access and effective domestic policy.
Cash-starved Pakistan could face a serious economic problem as its foreign exchange reserves are depleting fast amid rising external debt servicing.
The country has been facing a serious threat from its external front as the State Bank of Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves fell to single digits despite a USD 2.3 billion inflow from China late last month, the Dawn newspaper reported last month.
Pakistan has faced growing economic challenges, with high inflation, sliding forex reserves, a widening current account deficit and a depreciating currency.
With the rising current account deficit at USD 13.2 billion in the first nine months and pressing external loan repayment requirements, Pakistan required financial assistance of USD 9-12 billion till June 2022 to avert further depletion of foreign currency reserves.
Follow on Twitter | Posted by Mansoor Hameed | 
