May 20, 2003	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 17, 1424

ISLAMABAD, May 19: Pakistan and Kenya will soon initiate negotiations on the proposed free trade agreement aimed at increasing the volume of bilateral trade between the two countries.

An official source in the Ministry of Commerce told Dawn on Monday that before starting formal talks an initial draft of the proposed free trade agreement was sent to Kenya for consideration.

“The Kenyan authorities would go through the draft and would send us their feedback on the agreement in the next two or three months, said the official.

The recommendations, proposal and suggestion would be discussed at the forthcoming Pakistan-Kenya Joint Ministerial Commission scheduled for next two or three months.

According to the official, the proposal for free trade agreement was came from the Kenyan government, who was actively interested to have a free trade agreement with Pakistan.

Official statistics made available to Dawn showed that Pakistan’s trade deficit with Kenya declined to $78.275 million during the fiscal year 2001-02 against $115.205 million in the corresponding period of last year, showing a decline of 32 per cent.