KARACHI: Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Thursday, emphasized the need of entering into a free trade agreement with Indonesia to enhance and diversify bilateral while rectifying trade imbalances.
President FPCCI, Atif Ikram Sheikh, in a statement , stressed that Pakistan needed to work with Indonesia to formulate a free trade agreement (FTA) in order to rectify bilateral trade deficit of up to $3 billion.
‘We should work on Brand Pakistan through single-country exhibitions; exchange of trade delegations; cultural and student exchanges and projecting soft-image of Pakistan in the Southeast Asia region,’ he suggested.
Senior Vice President FPCCI, Saquib Fayyaz Magoon, said that ASEAN countries can be a huge export market for Pakistan as it has a population of over 600 million with a very strong middle-class. Their collective GDP in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) has well surpassed $10 trillion, he added.
VP FPCCI, Aman Paracha, stated the importance of diversifyin
g imports from Indonesia beyond palm oil and exploring opportunities for Pakistani exports in diverse sectors. He announced FPCCI’s plans to organize single-country exhibition in Indonesia to promote trade and address the imbalance.
VP FPCCI, Asif Sakhi, explained that Pakistan needed to think out of the box to work with the friendly country of Indonesia in transfer of technology, investments and joint ventures as both the countries are strong in textiles production.
Convener of FPCCI’s Central Standing Committee on Diplomatic Affairs, Hanif Gohar, highlighted the trade statistics; which are currently standing at $400 million in exports from Pakistan and $3.5 billion in imports from Indonesia – largely due to import of palm oil from Indonesia.
Consul General of Indonesia in Karachi, Dr. June Kuncoro Hadiningrat, during a meeting with the FPCCI Central Standing Committee on Diplomatic Affairs earlier, emphasized the need to strengthen bilateral trade and economic relations between Pakistan and Indonesia.
T
he Indonesian Envoy highlighted the potential for expansion in the bilateral trade basket of exportable and importable items between the two countries that was currently limited to a very few products and also invited Pakistani businesses to attend Expo Indonesia in October 2024, a platform to expand interactions and exploring trade opportunities.