March 21, 2007	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 1, 1428

KARACHI, March 20: About 60 per cent of the space at the Karachi Expo Centre is said to have been booked so far for setting up display stalls at the much-publicised annual event — Expo 2007 — which will be opened on March 29.

The government expects more than 1,000 foreign visitors. More than half of them will enjoy hospitality of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP).

Brisk preparation for organising the three-day international event from March 29 at a total cost of Rs150 million are being made amidst reports on Pakistan’s political environment getting murkier with every passing day since March 9 when the Chief Justice was declared dysfunctional.

Judges continue to resign and there seems to be no respite in every day protest processions of lawyers in many cities of the country.

Also to make the task of Expo-2007 organisers difficult is sluggish growth in exports. In last eight months, the exports amount to $10.9 billion trailing behind $820 million of the official target. The challenge is to net almost $7 billion export earning in next four months to remain close to official export target of $18.6 billion. It is being considered almost an impossible task.

The officials involved in the Expo hope to get remaining 40 per cent space booked by the exhibitors in next few days but the businessmen are sceptic and doubt if the event will help them getting them new opportunities for boosting country’s export trade and helping in improvement of Pakistan’s balance of trade.

The chairman of TDAP and other functionaries held a series of meetings with various chambers, trade associations and sectoral groups. The officials find convincing businessmen to set up stalls in the Expo a difficult job. Neither the government nor any trade body has issued a fact sheet of economic and trade benefits derived from participation in the Expo 2005 or 2006.

Pakistan’s balance of trade in the current fiscal year is being projected at $13 billion plus by end June despite a considerable fall in international oil prices and a visible drop in textile machinery import. Pakistan’s balance of trade during last fiscal year was $12 billion as against $6 billion in 2005-06.

Pakistan’s balance of trade started deteriorating from the year 2005 when the first Expo 2005 was held. In all three years after the holding of Expo—2005, 2006 and now 2007 — Pakistan’s balance of trade is going down the hill and the widening current account deficit is being funded by privatisation proceeds, remittances, portfolio and direct foreign investment.

Mainly because of growing lawlessness in all these years, the Expos lack a carnival touch. A traditional mela environment is missing as public is kept away from the event. Not only that public is kept away, more than three million people living in and around Gulshan-e-Iqbal in close vicinity of Civic Centre, where Expo is organised, are subjected to extreme hardships, mental torture and humiliations. The whole place is virtually put under siege for three days and movement becomes difficult if not impossible.

People in Karachi carry the fond memories of a series of international exhibitions held at the same place in early sixties where thousands used to visit every evening and enjoy visiting stalls of USA, China, Germany and many other countries and also of the local industrial groups. Then there was a lot of entertainment for children.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz is inaugurating Textile City on Wednesday at the Governor House in Karachi rather than at Port Qasim where it will be located. Businessmen question as to why government expects a larger turnout of exporters when the top functionaries of the government prefer to perform such ceremonies within secured and highly protected areas rather than at the location where the activity is taking place.

No announcement has so far been made as to who would inaugurate the Expo 2007 on March 29 and at what place because of the security reasons.