April 10, 2007	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 21, 1428

ISLAMABAD, April 9: Pakistan and China will start first round of negotiations on services sector from Thursday as part of the free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries.

A senior official said the first round will be held in Beijing to discuss the over all draft agreement and to identify areas for liberalisation under the agreement.

The two sides signed the FTA in November 2006, which exclusively deals with the trade on goods and investment. The agreement is expected to be effective from July 1.

During the two days of talks, experts would identify areas for services suppliers of Pakistan and China. It would be later made part of the agreement.

The official said Pakistan would seek more commitments in maximum sectors to gain more market access for Pakistani service suppliers.

The potential areas for services liberalisation include finance, telecom, tourism, health, education, transportation, road, energy distribution services.