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Sri Lankan Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen (centre) meets Pakistani Minister for Commerce Engr. Khurram Dastgir Khan at Nairobi’s Kenyatta International Conference Centre on the side-lines of the 14th Session of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (#UNCTAD14) on 19 July
Sri Lanka’s second largest trade partner in SAARC has proposed for a new, turnaround level trade between the two countries. “We have an opportunity here – Let us walk the talk,” exclaimed an upbeat Pakistani Minister for Commerce Engr. Khurram Dastgir Khan in Nairobi on 19 July.
Pakistani Commerce Minister Khan was discussing with the Sri Lankan Minister of Industry and Commerce Rishad Bathiudeen during Minister Bathiudeen’s bilateral meeting with him on the sidelines of the 14th Session of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD 14) in Nairobi, Kenya. Joining the session with Minister Bathiudeen was Sri Lanka’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization (WTO) R.D.S. Kumararatne.
Total trade between the two countries increased YoY by 16% to $ 370.38 million in 2015 from 2014’s $ 353 million, retaining Pakistan’s position as the second largest SAARC trade partner of Sri Lanka, according to the Department of Commerce of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s main exports to Pakistan in 2015 were tea, betel leaves, coconuts, wood and pepper. Among key imports from Pakistan are cotton, portland cement, medicaments, iron and steel, and beverages including vinegar.
“Since we have established good relations among us, we should be more aggressive, including in trade. Our analysis is that our two economies do not compete with each other and therefore we can aggressively open up to move from our current ‘few items trade basket’ to a much larger trade scheme. We believe we can start our new rounds with a Mutual Recognition Agreement. We have an opportunity here – Let us walk the talk! The Pakistan single country exhibition held in Colombo was a great success and generated new trade interest among Pakistani businesses. We also invite stronger Lankan trade and business delegations to Pakistan so that we can start at B2B levels,” said Minister Khan.
Responding to Minister Khan, Minister Bathiudeen welcomed the trade expansion offer and assured Minister Khan that Sri Lanka is working to send a strong trade and B2B delegation to Pakistan in the near future. “Your offer comes at a time when the Unity Government President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is prioritising international trade as part of proposed economic reforms and therefore I shall inform them of your offers including your call for a Mutual Recognition Agreement,” stressed Minister Bathiudeen.
“A significant improvement in our bilateral trade has been recorded since the Pakistan Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (PSFTA) came into force in June 2005. Still, there appears to be unrealised trade potentials that we can jointly explore. We too believe that it is time to expand our trade basket with Pakistan,” he added.
According to the Department of Commerce, a range of new products have penetrated into the Pakistan market from Sri Lanka after the implementation of the PSFTA among them are fresh pineapple, MDF boards, sports goods, tamarind, edible oil, porcelain tableware and kitchenware and ceramic items.
