ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Commerce on Thursday said that implementation of an agreement signed between Pakistan and Turkiye about “Trade in Goods” last year in August, had started from May 1, which would further cement bilateral business relations between both countries.
“The Trade in Goods agreement between Pakistan and Turkiye has come into force on May 1, 2023, as per the mutual agreement, which brings into effect reciprocal tariff concessions extended to selected exports of both countries”, said a press release.
The agreement was signed by the Turkish Minister for Trade, Mehmet Mus, and Federal Minister for Commerce, Syed Naveed Qamar, which was witnessed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, according to the press release.
Syed Naveed Qamar said that the agreement would open up new opportunities to boost bilateral trade across various sectors and stressed the need to increase business-to-business interaction for strengthening trade and investment relations between the brotherly countries.
The agreement would bring into effect reciprocal tariff concessions extended to select exports of both countries, he added.
“Under the Agreement, Pakistan has gained preferential access to the Turkish market under 261 tariff lines covering traditional as well as non-traditional sectors such as leather, rice, dates, mangoes, cutlery, sports goods, seafood, processed agricultural products, rubber tubes and tires, plastics, and engineering goods.”
“Whereas concessions on 130 tariff lines have been extended to Turkiye, including products such as black tea, processed food products and flavourings, industrial raw materials and parts of machinery, and parts of electronic equipment. The Trade in Goods Agreement signifies a notable milestone in the historic brotherly relations between Pakistan and Turkiye and envisages further integration of the markets and business communities of both countries,” it added.