ISLAMABAD: Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan has urged the Indo­nesian government to ensure the implementation of an ag­­reement to import one million tonnes of rice from Pakistan.

Both sides inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in January 2016 for export of rice worth around $400 million over a period of four years to be implemented by Trading Corpora­tion of Pakistan and Indone­sian State Logistic Agency.

He said this during a meeting with Enggartiasto Lukita, Minister for Trade of Indonesia, on the side lines of 12th World Islamic Economic Forum held in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Prime Minister of Pakis­tan nominated Mr. Dastgir to represent Pakistan on his behalf at the forum.

Mr. Dastgir Khan also urged his Indonesian counterpart to reconsider the import quota policy for Pakistan for items included in Preferential Trade Agree­ment (PTA) and expressed hope that a quota-free market access would help Pakistani exports to grow.

He said that the barriers to trade which hinders the free flow of products are being phased out in the modern trading system.

He appreciated the fact that PTA between both countries has helped bilateral trade to grow. Import of palm oil from Indonesia has exponentially increased the volume of imports from Indonesia and in future Pakistan might start importing coal from Indonesia in large quantities for electricity generation, he added.

First review meeting of PTA is scheduled to be held in August 2016 in Jakarta, where both sides will share their evaluation and discuss the future course of action.

Indonesian Minister Eng­gar­­tiasto Lukita expressed the desire to find possibilities of converting this PTA into a Free Trade Agreement.

He asserted that signing of a full scale trade agreement between the two countries would open a new avenue for trade in goods and may lead to a point where both countries agree to expand bilateral preferential treatment to services as well.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2016