Daily Times – Pakistan
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Almatay conference to focus trade with CA
ISLAMABAD: The Minister for Commerce Humayun Akhtar Khan will chair the
maiden Envoys Conference beginning in Almatay, Kazakhstan on Tuesday
The meeting would be a good step towards improved trade relations as the
present trade policy of the country, specifically focuses on two regions
i.e. Central Asian Republics (CARs) and Africa, which remained neglected
earlier, according to an official hand out issued on Tuesday.
One of the initiatives in the Trade Policy 2004-05 is to hold Regional
Conferences of Envoys and Commercial Officers in CARs, Africa, East Europe,
Latin America, Middle East and Far East countries. The objective of these
conferences is to develop a comprehensive strategy for increasing and
diversifying Pakistan exports to these countries. The geo-strategic and
geo-economic importance of Central Asia cannot be under mined because of its
position between Europe and the Asian heartland as well as the tremendous
energy resources of the region that would gain increasing importance in
future.
The first Conference of CARs is being held at Almaty, Kazakhstan from
15-16th March. In-depth consultations will be held to assess Pakistan’s
export potential in each of these countries. The restraining factors like
import tariffs, non-tariff barriers, payment problems and visa restrictions
will be identified. The Conference would also examine the existing regional
trading arrangements. In this Conference, Kazakh-tan, Uzbekistan,
Kyrghistan, Turk-menistan, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan and Armenia will be
covered. – Staff Report
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress