DHAKA, Sept 13: Pakistan on Tuesday offered to enhance duty-free access to Bangladeshi tea to 15,000 tons up from 10,000 tons. The notification for the duty-free facility would soon be issued by the Pakistan government, which would be effective from next year.

Further, the two countries agreed on Tuesday to create a joint fund for investment promotion activities at the concluding session of the Joint Economic Commission here.

Bangladesh’s commerce minister Altaf Hossain Choudhury led his side, while Salman Shah, advisor to the Pakistani prime minister for finance and revenue, led his team at the eighth meeting of the commission.

The countries have agreed to hold trade fairs on reciprocal basis, and decided to encourage joint venture investment in both countries, particularly in sectors that include ICT, telecommunications, textiles and jute goods, electronics and light engineering, leather, agro-based industries, agriculture machinery and tourism.

Both the parties, set a target to raise the current level of trade volume up to $1 billion by 2007, establish a direct shipping link between Chittagong and Karachi to promote trade and commercial links and institutional linkages between the export processing agencies of the two countries.

“There was an agreement to enhance trade to $1 billion by 2007. To achieve this target, we have agreed upon a detailed plan of action,” Dr Shah said.

“For this purpose, a joint working group is being set up to implement the targets on trade and economic cooperation,” Shah told newsmen after signing the document.

“Achieving the target of $1 billion by 2007 is possible despite the fact that the target is ambitious,” Shah added responding to a question. “Both countries have export and import potentials; now we have to put maximum efforts to realise the potentials.”

Altaf also told newsmen, “This is not ambitious, but an appropriate and achievable target. We would start working on achieving the target from the very moment the meeting will be over.”

The meeting of the commission, beginning Sunday at the National Economic Council Auditorium here, concluded with the signing of agreed minutes by the delegation leaders.

According to the signed minutes, both the countries agreed to create a joint fund to undertake investment promotion activities, the agreed document said.

The modalities of setting up the funds and the operations funds would be finalized by the proposed joint working group, a high official attending the meeting said.

Bangladesh has proposed to Pakistan a list of 104 items for duty-free access, including pharmaceuticals, plastic products, toiletries, ready-made garments, melamine and ceramic products.

About Safta, he said, both the countries were favouring to increase the volume of trade. “Bilateral trade and FTA are in the same direction of Safta,’ he added. This was the eighth meeting of the commission. The 7th meeting was held in Dhaka in 1998 and the 9th meeting will be held in Islamabad in September 2006.

In 2003-04, Bangladesh export to Pakistan was $45 million against imports worth of $61 million. During July-December period of fiscal 2004-05, Bangladesh’s exports stood at only $13 million against its imports from Pakistan at $65 million.