ISLAMABAD, April 29: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Friday that the government was focussing on diversification of export base, exploring new markets and improving the country’s image to hit the export target of $28 billion in the next five years. Speaking at the foundation-stone laying ceremony of an export display centre of the Islamabad Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), the prime minister announced that Pakistan was on course to achieving export worth $14 billion for the year 2004-05, but said this was still well below the potential of the country.

“Countries like ASEAN members, with far less resources, are way ahead of us...Let’s not rest on our laurels and show that we are a serious player,” the prime minister said.

Mr Aziz said the government was focussing on diversifying its exports base by providing an enabling environment to new products, particularly engineering products, to make them competitive in international markets.

“We will have to produce quality products, which are also competitive, price-wise, to get a maximum share in the international market,” he said, adding that the days of developing industry behind the wall of high tariffs were over.

He said the government was currently engaged in negotiations with a host of countries to conclude preferential trade arrangements (PTAs) and free trade agreements (FTAs) to provide new markets for Pakistani products at preferential duties and taxes. Under these efforts, new markets would be explored in Iran, South American countries, EU member countries, China and Japan.

“If our bed-linen has good buyers in the USA and Europe, why not Japan, China and other countries,” he said. The prime minister said the private sector in the country was very creative and innovative but it needed to be more competitive to meet the challenges of globalization.

Mr Aziz said Pakistan’s image was improving across the globe but there was still room for betterment. “Now people have started travelling to Pakistan, something evidenced in the flow of foreign direct investment which had increased manifold during the last one to two years.”

He said that Islamabad was currently exchanging delegations with 12 selected countries to share with them Pakistan’s culture, tradition, and values. He said the image of a country could not be improved through publishing advertisements in newspapers but by showing some facts on the ground.

He pointed out that Pakistan’s share in world trade was minuscule, despite the richness of its human capital and potential.

He said the government would continue to create an enabling environment, but it was up to the private sector to meet the challenges.