ISLAMABAD, Sep 23 (APP): Chakkrid Krachaiwong, Ambassador of Thailand on Saturday said that his country was ready to finalize a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Pakistan as negotiations on this had reached the final stage and now, it was up to Pakistan to expedite it. He revealed that Thai Air was resuming its flights from Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.
He expressed these views during an interaction with the business community at Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI). Ms. Kamolwan Siriposil, Thai Economic Counsellor and Deputy Head of Mission, Khemathat Archawathamrong, Thai Counsellor and also accompanied him on the occasion, said a press release issued here.
The Ambassador said that many Pakistanis visited Thailand and stressed that they should also play a role to increase bilateral trade between the two countries.
He said that both countries should focus on promoting bilateral investment to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.
Mr Krachaiwong said that the Pakistani business community should display its products in Thailand Industrial Fair 2024 in January next year, which would help them to improve their business prospects.
He said that many Thai investors wanted to invest in Pakistan, but they did not know where to invest. He identified seafood, mangoes, the halal food and halal cosmetics as potential areas for the bilateral trade.
Speaking on the occasion, Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President, ICCI said that the Chamber would take up the issue of FTA with relevant Pakistani authorities for swift progress on it as it would help increase bilateral trade between Pakistan and Thailand.
He said that Thailand’s annual exports in 2022 were over US$ 285 billion and imports were around US$300 billion, but its bilateral trade with Pakistan in 2022-23 was less than US$ 1 billion.
He said that both countries were doing trade in limited items and stressed that they should diversify trade to achieve better results.
He said Pakistan can export many other products to Thailand including value-added textiles, leather goods, sports items, pharmaceuticals, surgical instruments and food products. Similarly, he said Pakistan can import more products from Thailand.
Ahsan Bakhtawari said that the government had established a Special Investment Facilitation Council to facilitate new investments in defense, agriculture, minerals, IT and Telecom, energy and other sectors and stressed that the Thai investors should take advantage of these opportunities in Pakistan.
He said that tourism sector was another promising area of mutual cooperation as Pakistan’s rich cultural heritage and diverse landscapes offer great attractions to Thai tourists.
He said that learning from Thailand’s successful tourism industry, Pakistan can also develop its tourism sector along modern lines.
Aamir Hussain, Maqsood Tabish,Ch. Muhammad Ali,Malik Najeeb, Khalid Chaudhry, Fiazan Shehzad, Kashif Chaudhry,Ms. Parveen Khan, Ch. Tahir and others were also present on the occasion.
KARACHI, Sep 23 (APP): Caretaker Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi on Saturday visited Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi which has been playing a critical role in promoting the country’s art and culture.
Upon arrival, the minister was accorded warm welcome by Arts Council President Ahmad Shah along with its staff.
The minister lauded the services rendered by President of Arts Council Ahmad Shah for promoting arts and culture of the country.
The services of the Arts Council and its President for promoting the art and culture were commendable, Solangi remarked while visiting various departments of the council.
He said the Arts Council had become the largest cultural institute in the country.
NEW YORK, Sep 23 (APP): Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani has reaffirmed the government’s resolute commitment to foster partnerships with global business and industrial community during his interaction with a group of US business leaders here at the Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU).
During his address to the US business leaders, the foreign minister highlighted the resilience of Pakistani market despite formidable challenges in recent years, including COVID-19 pandemic, last year’s devastating floods, and the global supply chain crisis. He said the stabilizing measures implemented by the government were steering the nation towards economic recovery and growth.
The foreign minister called upon US businesses to explore investment opportunities in Pakistan, underscoring that the country’s ongoing transformation presented a unique window for investments across a wide range of sectors.
In this context he emphasized the significance of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) as a landmark initiative launched by the Government of Pakistan to promote investments in agriculture, IT, mineral & mining, renewable energy and defense production sectors.
The foreign minister underscored the immense potential awaiting foreign investors in these sectors. He assured investors of Pakistan’s steadfast commitment to providing a secure investment environment, offering legal protection and avenues for profit repatriation.
NEW YORK, Sep 23 (APP): Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has said that bringing economic stability in the country was the foremost priority of the government and in this regard a comprehensive economic revival plan was in force.
He said assisting the process of elections was one of the prime duties of the government. “We will be assisting and supporting the process, and while doing so really try to focus on the economic revival plan. That is the biggest challenge.”
In an interview with the US based weekly magazine Newsweek here on Friday, the prime minister pointed out that the caretaker government was deeply concerned about the situation of stability. “At the moment, it’s pretty much under control. It’s something which we fully and lawfully monitor, and we are in charge to pull all the strings when it comes to stability.”
With respect to Pakistan’s relations with Afghanistan, he said it would take some time to get relations with the neighboring Afghanistan’s de facto government better. “It’ll take a bit of time, but we are quite confident that we will be able to manage that.”
“We do have a larger perspective and outlook on the whole of the region. But these day-to-day events do mire and complicate our relationship at times. But we’re trying to manage it in a manner which is mutually beneficial to both sides,” he added.
Responding to a question regarding the US’ attention in South Asian region, PM Kakar said as a Pakistani and someone coming from that region, he would be very much baffled if that region was being ignored or if it deserved less attention by the United States, because this was where actually lot of things were happening.
“A population of around 3 to 4 billion resides in that region. How do you ignore 4 billion people? How do you pay less attention to 4 billion people out of 8? Almost half of humanity resides there.”
He said there were potential conflicts in those areas. “It would be very stingy on my part not to mention Kashmir, because it is a flashpoint between two nuclear states. God forbid, if there is any sort of military confrontation between the two nuclear powers, how would that translate to the region? How would that translate outside the region? What sort of implications would it have for the European continent? What implications will it have across the planet into North America and the rest?.”
The prime minister expressed his concerns over the entire so-called “Indo-Pacific” policy of the Western Hemisphere via the encirclement of a regional power around the South China. “We do view it and we are closely monitoring all the developments.”
“The so-called Indo Pacific strategy is done for the objectives which suit Western powers…so, there is an element of concern and there is a legitimate sense of caution on the Pakistani side, we are closely monitoring that…and we are trying to do our own preparedness to respond to such a challenge,” he added.
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