Pakistan Business Forum (PBF) has said that Pakistan and Turkiye are set to expand their Strategic Economic Framework (SEF), including the Trade in Goods Agreement (TGA), during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit, as business community is expecting to streamline trade procedures and eliminating non-tariff obstacles.
Ahmad Jawad, chief organizer of the Pakistan Business Forum, said that they have to diversify their trade basket and encourage exports of new items. In this regard, the business community expect both the sides will focus on investment, digital trade, removal of non-tariff barriers, and further tariff concessions to enhance bilateral trade and investment because Turkiye have a small investment footprint in Pakistan.
He said that this visit may also address trade stagnation between the two nations, which currently stands at approximately $1.3 billion. He said that both the countries aim to push this figure to $5 billion through expanded cooperation. Currently, the existing bilateral trade volume did not reflect the true potential of both the states.
Ahmad Jawad said that in line with the common vision of the leadership, “we have to laid a strong foundation of ties between the two countries.” Similarly, he suggested that Pakistan must gain lessons from Turquality program: a state-sponsored branding initiative aimed at improving competitiveness and brand value of Turkish brands. As it has proven to be very successful in boosting textile exports and elevating the Turkish brand status.
On Monday, President Asif Ali Zardari met his Turkish counterpart during a brief stopover at Istanbul airport, while the Pakistani leader was en-route to Portugal, where both the countries agreed to boost counter-terror cooperation in a separate meeting in Islamabad. In their meeting, Asif Zardari and Tayyip Erdogan discussed bilateral ties and exchanged courtesies, a press release issued by the presidency said.
Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan confirmed in a statement that President Tayyip Erdogan will be arriving in Pakistan on February 12 on a two-day official visit at the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. According to the spokesperson, President Erdogan would be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including ministers and senior officials, as well as corporate leaders.
