ISLAMABAD, May 6: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Saturday urged the United States to show flexibility in some clauses of the draft bilateral investment treaty (BIT) that delayed the signing of the agreement.
An official source told Dawn that the prime minister also told US Under-Secretary for International Trade, US Department of Commerce, Frank Lavin in a meeting that Pakistan wanted an early finalization of the agreement. Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan also attended the meeting.
Mr Lavin assured the prime minister that the treaty would be finalised based on the mutually agreed criteria shortly. The date for next meeting on the BIT scheduled to be held in Washington will be finalised soon.
An official announcement said Mr Aziz told the US under-secretary that early finalisation of the treaty would open doors for the free trade agreement (FTA) needed to be finalised soon. “It will also enhance the volume of trade between the two countries and as a result more employment opportunities and business activities will be generated in the country.”
Mr Aziz appreciated the plans to set up reconstruction opportunity zones (ROZs), saying the zones would contribute to the overall economic uplift of commercially depressed zones and less developed areas. The infrastructure of the area would be strengthened to set up these zones and the population of the area would have more jobs and better facilities of life, he added.
The prime minister said the ROZs, which was under process, also included that goods manufactured in the zones would be exported to the US market on preferential terms.
He said Pakistan had been making steady progress on the issue. “A dedicated organisation –- the Intellectual Property Rights Organisation — has been set up to deal with the issues in a focussed manner and Pakistan has made progress in this sector.”
Mr Lavin appreciated the economic recovery achieved by Pakistan. He said the structural reforms implemented by the government had put the country’s economy on the path of sustainable development. He said the reforms were essential for Pakistan to meet the challenges of globalisation.