LAHORE, July 7: Commerce Minister Abdul Razak Dawood proceeded on a two-day visit to Sri Lanka here on Sunday to what he said pave way for a trade agreement between the two countries to be signed by September this year.

“I am going to open trade doors for Pakistan as the agreement between the two countries will give Islamabad an additional $50 to $100 million annual business,” the minister said while speaking at a news conference prior to his departure at Lahore airport.

He said President Pervez Musharraf was due to visit Sri Lanka at the end of the current month. The Sri Lankan foreign minister is expected to visit Islamabad next week and the commerce minister on July 24. He said he would meet the Sri Lankan president, the prime minister and the commerce minister during his stay there to settle different issues regarding the bilateral trade agreement.

He said Pakistan would like to buy items from Sri Lank which it did not produce like tea, coconut oil and agriculture produce, and willing to sell it medium technology engineering products like transformers, fans, metres, galvanized pipes and pumps.

Mr Dawood said the two countries had a $130 million mutual business last year. It was in favour of Pakistan which exported products worth $96 million to Sri Lanka while bought products of $34 million from it.

He said negotiations with Sri Lanka for the agreement started a year ago. So far four meetings had been held between the two countries on the subject, agreeing in principle the signing of the agreement which had been delayed because of elections in Sri Lanka, he said.

The minister said the two countries had already exchanged the shopping list. “We are seeking duty-free exports and reduction in duties. I am going there to remove hurdles if any and to narrow the gap,” he said. “I am going for market access which no-one in the past did. The agreement will allow the country to export its products and to earn foreign exchange, promote the local industry and provide jobs to the people,” he said.

He said the main thrust of the government’s policies had been to get opened doors of world market for the local industry.

Answering questions, the minister hoped that the future governments would continue to pursue and follow the policy of market access for the sake of the progress of the country. He said seeking foreign market access was more difficult than demanding foreign aid as no-one was ready to lose business for others. “During negotiations with Americans from January to March this year, Washington had refused to allow Pakistani bed sheets an access to its market,” he said.