ISLAMABAD, July 27: Pakistan’s leading envoys on Sunday supported trade with India through rail and road networks besides backing the petroleum and gas pipeline links making Pakistan a hub of international transit trade in the region.
Speaking at a seminar ahead of four-day envoy’s conference, key envoys also called for coordinated efforts to evolve a joint strategy at world fora like the WTO and adopt clear policies, enabling the country’s foreign missions abroad to contribute more meaningfully to trade and investment promotion.
Organised by the foreign office, the seminar “Global Economic Challenges: The Role of the Foreign Office,” was also attended by representatives of various trade organisation and chambers of commerce and industry.
Mr Khokhar said a “very serious study” by all the stakeholders — the business community, trade organisations and the Foreign Office — was required before taking a decision to grant MFN status to India.
He said Pakistan had “no fixed view” on the matter and there was a need to look at the issue of trade with India objectively. Dismissing the notion that India’s 1,000 million population offered greater business opportunities, he informed the participants that India also had one of the most restrictive trade regimes in the world.
Mr Khokhar referred to the forthcoming SAFTA talks to be held in the next few weeks and said it was imperative for the private sector and the government to join hands and look at all aspects of this agreement.
He said, “(we are) not afraid...(are) ready to do trade, but need to do our homework, need to keep our political considerations in view.”
Foreign minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri proposed a committee, comprising representatives of foreign office, ministries of commerce, industries, investment and privatisation, export promotion bureau and private sector to effectively promote external economic and commercial relations.
Pakistan’s permanent envoy to the UN Munir Akram said that Pakistan should take an immediate decision whether to allow transit trade to India, not only through oil and gas pipelines but also through road and rail.
“I believe Pakistan can emerge as a hub of international trade — to central Asia, and East and the West Asia — and the international community is already looking at the opportunities”, said Munir Akram.
Expressing his dissatisfaction over the domestic economic situation as well as the law and order situation, Mr Akram said Pakistan virtually had no export surplus.
He said the foreign reserves should be channelled for production, growth and employment generation and law and order should be improved.
Criticizing the WTO and the US policies in terms of subsidies, reverse protection and tariffications, Munir Akram said regional treaties and preferential treatments were shutting Pakistan out.
Stressing the need for a tough negotiation strategy, he said Pakistan should improve its production standards and it should resist whatever was avoidable under the WTO regime.
Mr Akram said Pakistan should also support its agriculture sector, ask for waiver of new standard applications unilaterally by the developed countries.
Dr Maleeha Lodhi, high commissioner-designate to the UK said there was a lack of coordination among government agencies and the foreign office, adding that Pakistan’s missions abroad never receive a clear policy guideline from the headquarters.
She said that having achieved macroeconomic stability, Pakistan does not know what to do next whether it was going to promote sub-contractors like China does or allow multinationals to set up their headquarters in the country like India is doing.
Riaz Mohammad Khan, envoy to China said that Pakistan could become a hub of transit trade activities particularly for central Asian republics and China in the fields of oil and gas and infrastructure once peace returned to Afghanistan.
Sohail Altaf, senior vice president of the FPCCI demanded coordination among various trade bodies and Pakistan’s missions abroad, and various ministries and suggested that repercussion should be considered before initiating anti-dumping proceedings against some Chinese companies.
He said Pakistan should reduce its input costs to compete in the global market and move towards regional and bilateral free trade agreements.
Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, ambassador to the US said that Pakistani missions were short of resources and funds to deal with trade and investment issues.
He supported trade with India and said a long list could be prepared of the benefits we would be missing if we did not trade with that country.
He said missions abroad should have clear instructions from Islamabad as to what the government wanted to do with the economic support fund assistance from the US whether it would be used for debt reduction or something else.
Mr. Qazi was of the view that utilisation of US economic package for debt reduction would not be a convincing answer. He said the signing of trade and investment facilitation agreement (TIFA) with the US was a step towards free trade agreement but this may or may not lead to the FTA and was dependent on political considerations.
He said Pakistan should be tough in negotiations but moderate as well because Pakistan could not achieve economic and trade development unless it has good relations with neighbours and remaining within security needs it should achieve trade and economic development.
Foreign secretary Riaz Khokhar while winding up the seminar noted that Pakistan was not prepared to face the challenges of the future and regretted that he never received concrete instruction from economic ministries in his 35 years of diplomatic career.
He also regretted that neither the secretary commerce nor chairman export promotion bureauattended the seminar to contribute in such vital issues.
