WASHINGTON, Oct 1: Pakistan needs market access for its exports, lowering of barriers against trade, flows of foreign direct investment, transfer of technology, easy movement of labour and active collaboration in scientific education, research and development.

Stating this, Dr Ishrat Husain Thursday said Pakistan would benefit a lot, if, for example, the United States allows "our textiles and clothing to enter the US markets on the same terms and conditions as it has given to Mexico, Central America, Caribbean and Sub Saharan Africa.

"This single gesture alone," the SBP Governor said, would generate hundreds of thousands new jobs in the economy, boost Pakistan's foreign exchange earnings substantially and escalate "our economic growth to new horizons, Pakistan would prefer to have greater access to the US market compared to increased aid allocation."

He said this while to a question, at a seminar on 'Economic Challenges Facing Pakistan: The Role Of The United States,' held under the aegis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

He mentioned four US states, where he said the textile firms "are to be hard hit" by the new agreement on clothing and textiles effective January 2005. Dr Ishrat said, if there were "strategic alliances" or "joint ventures" - marketing partnerships or technical agreements - between US and Pakistani firms, the threat of jobs of the size of 600,000 in these four states i.e. North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Alabama could be saved by up to 60 per cent.

On the other hand, these could generate more job opportunities for Pakistani skilled persons, and help alleviate poverty. "As the latter produce goods at low costs compared to their counterparts in the US, the specifications, designs, marketing, quality control, research and development can be assigned to the US firms, while production can take place in Pakistan."

In this process, he stated, the American consumer will buy clothing at lower prices, some of the American workers will be able to save their jobs and Pakistan will expand output, exports, employment and reduce poverty. -APP