October 14, 2006	Saturday	Ramazan 20, 1427

ISLAMABAD, Oct 13: Pakistan and Mexico on Friday inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on export of Pakistani rice to Mexico.

Minister of State for Economic Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar and Mexican Under-Secretary of the ministry of economy, Angel Villalobos Rodriguez signed the MoU on behalf of their respective governments.

Following the agreement, Pakistani exporters would now be allowed to export all varieties of rice to Mexico after a ban imposed six years back.

An announcement issued here by economic affairs minister said the agreement was finalised and initiated during the first meeting of the Pakistan-Mexico Joint Commission on trade, investment and economic cooperation held in Mexico City.

Pakistan proposed the initiation of negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) to expand market access and provide additional incentives to the business community. The Mexican side agreed to examine the draft MoU proposed by Pakistan on the establishment of a Joint Business Council.

The joint commission covered a broad agenda, including an overview of the economics of the two countries, evolution of Pakistan-Mexico trade, ways to enhance bilateral trade, evaluation of investment opportunities in the two countries, cooperation in the services sector and review of the status of draft agreements under consideration by the two sides.

Both the sides agreed that the existing level of bilateral trade was far below the real potential and efforts by the two countries to diversify their external trade offered a strong mutuality of interest and potential for a significant increase.

The two sides further decided to take specific steps for increasing the volume of bilateral trade, including through regular sharing of information about the trade and economic opportunities existing in the two countries, exchange of business delegations, participation in each others trade fairs, and holding of single country exhibition.