ISLAMABAD, June 2: Pakistan and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by the end of this year to remove existing tariff and non-tariff barriers.

The aim is to boost foreign direct investment, joint ventures and greater economic cooperation with the GCC members, Gulf Times online reported on Friday.

Federal Minister for Commerce Humayun Akhtar Khan while talking to reporters in Abu Dhabi after inaugurating a two-day conference of Pakistani envoys to the Gulf and Middle East said, “We are in a process of negotiating the FTA with the GCC and an agreement is expected to be concluded by the year-end.”

He said that an understanding had also been reached through regular channels for an Early Harvest Programme (EHP) leading to an FTA with Syria, and a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Yemen.—APP