October 16, 2003	Thursday	Sha'aban 19, 1424

ISLAMABAD, Oct 15: The donor agencies would assist the ministry of commerce for carrying out research studies to operationalize medium term trade strategy for Pakistan.

This was decided in a meeting of representatives of donor agencies — World Bank, UNDP, JETRO and European Union —with Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan here on Wednesday.

The minister told the representatives of donor agencies that his ministry had prioritised a list of research studies that were required to be taken in hand as soon as possible in order to operationalize the trade policy.

According to an official announcement issued on Wednesday, the primary objective of this meeting was to consult with all the donors a coordinated way so that the required studies could be initiated at the earliest.

During the meeting, various donors expressed their preferences vis-a-vis the proposed studies and indicated their willingness to collaborate with the government of Pakistan for their early completion.

Various participants appreciated the utility of this donor coordination meeting and it was decided that in future the commerce ministry would be chairing such meeting every quarter.

The meeting among others was also attended by secretary, economic affairs division, Dr Waqar Masood.