ISLAMABAD, Feb 15: Pakistan and the United States have decided to initiate negotiations on signing a bilateral investment treaty to facilitate the activities of investors in their respective countries.
Addressing a joint press conference with the US Trade Representative (USTR), Robert B. Zoellick, here on Sunday Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan said negotiations were expected to start in April next.
He said Islamabad would soon receive a draft agreement from Washington, which would be discussed at length with all relevant stakeholders. This, sources said, would be different from the already existing Trade and Investment Facilitation Agreement (TIFA) signed between the two countries last year.
Mr Khan said the two countries also agreed to work together for the success of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA). Speaking on the occasion, Mr Zoellick said he was consulting with some important countries on how to revive the DDA.
Pakistan was a natural choice in this regard since it enjoyed a great deal of respect in the WTO, both amongst developing and developed countries, he added.
He said he had, therefore, considered it necessary to contact Pakistan's minister of commerce and seek his counsel on what could be the best way to move the process forward.
He went on to say that the US and Pakistan had a number of common interests in the current negotiations. Both countries, for instance, regarded negotiations on agriculture as central and crucial and feel that the future of the world trading system could best be served by the elimination of trade distorting subsidies being given mostly by developed countries.
Mr Zoellick arrived here on a flying visit on Sunday to meet the commerce minister. His visit to Pakistan is part of a tour of 10 important world capitals that he would cover in eight days. Prior to arriving in Islamabad he met with ministers of the 10 countries in Beijing, Tokyo and Singapore. He left for New Delhi for the next leg of his current tour in the evening.
The USTR is leading a high-powered delegation which includes ambassador Linnet Deily, Deputy USTR and ambassador to the WTO; ambassador Ashley Wills, Assistant USTR for South Asia; Daniel Sullivan, Director for International Trade, National Security Council; Dorothy Dwoskin, Assistant USTR for WTO and multilateral Affairs; Richard Mills, Assistant USTR for Public Affairs andChristine Davies, Special Assistant to the USTR.
Mr Zoellick said his multi-country visit was a part of the efforts of the US to get the WTO multilateral trade negotiations moving which had been stalled since the fifth ministerial conference held in Cancun, Mexico.
Mr Khan expressed optimism on the prospects of the Doha Development Agenda negotiations restarting in the near future. He emphasized that it was in the interest of Pakistan and other developing countries to see that the Doha round of negotiations succeeded because an effective multilateral trading system was the best option for our trade and development.