ISLAMABAD:
On Sunday, interim Commerce Minister Dr. Gohar Ejaz said that a delegation from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was scheduled to visit Pakistan in the final week of this month, and that the two countries planned to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) during their visit.
After China and the United States, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is Pakistan’s third-largest trading partner. More than E240 million in remittances are sent to Pakistan annually from the Gulf state, which is home to an estimated 1.8 million Pakistani expatriates.
Policymakers in Pakistan see the UAE as a great place to send their country’s exports partly because of the low cost of shipping goods there. According to Ejaz, the purpose of the UAE delegation’s visit is to conduct business.
“An Emirates delegation is planned for end September to finalise the FTA,” Ejaz was reported as saying by Arab News.
According to the article, the United Arab Emirates was already working on an FTA with Pakistan and has inked such agreements with about nine other countries.
During an interview with Arab News, Pakistan’s ambassador to the UAE, Faisal Niaz Tirmizi, expressed optimism that the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) would be signed during the impending visit.
We’d prefer to close the deal as soon as the final details are worked out, Tirmizi added. “A successful signing of the CEPA will potentially reduce trade tariffs that could significantly enhance Pakistan’s income and revenue,” Tirmizi said.
Since this time last year, our two countries’ trade has surged by 24 percent. Increased market access for the UAE following CEPA. We’ve been to several major trade shows, and the number of Pakistani companies in the fields of food, health food, pharmaceuticals, and tourism is growing,” he remarked.
