Daily Times

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has prioritized for boosting the national economy by trade-led growth through trade liberalization and facilitation besides improving export competitiveness. The government has achieved higher market access for Pakistani products in existing markets as well as in new markets, according to a three-year performance report issued here on Thursday. The report said the government has adopted comprehensive policies for reducing the cost of doing business in the country. The government will strive to place Pakistan in the top 100 economies of the world, according to the World Bank’s Doing Business rankings in five years. The government would implement structural changes to the existing and outdated system to create a comprehensive and integrated approach to improve balance of payment, drive innovation and diversify our exports. The government will make Pakistan’s textile industry more competitive to boost exports and regain its position in the international markets. Pakistan’s exports have relied on traditional export sectors and without a proper Strategy the trade deficit has always remained a problem and now the government has searched the new trading avenues of non-traditional potential markets at global level. The government has mainly focused on export marketing, better commercial intelligence, and trade diplomacy/market access through the diversification of export products and markets.

According to the report, the key objective is to diversify Pakistan’s exports, in terms of product diversification as well as geographical diversification. The report said that value-addition to exports is another objective, particularly in the textile sector and food processing. In addition, the Ministry of Commerce, through tariff rationalization and budgetary intervention is promoting “Make in Pakistan”, which aims to reduce the import bill and boost export, managing the problem of balance of trade. The government has augmented e-Commerce and digital industry’s growth to make it one of the key drivers of Pakistan’s economy.

According to the report, the government has signed different trade agreements and memorandums of understanding (MoU) for increasing multilateral trade with different trading destinations. The establishment of Pak-Uzbekistan Joint Working Group on Trade and Economic Affairs was signed on10th September, 2020 and its 1st meeting was held on 1st February, 2021 in Tashkent. The negotiations have resumed with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for Trade Agreement (FTA) after 13 years, report said. The 3rd Session of the Joint Working Group on Trade between Azerbaijan and Pakistan was held on 24th December, 2020.