Bilateral ties: Pakistan likely to gain more from FTA with Turkey

KARACHI:

Pakistan is likely to gain more from a free trade agreement (FTA) with Turkey, said Turkish Consul General in Karachi Murat M Onart during a visit to the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on Thursday.

While underscoring the need for an FTA, Onart said exchange of more trade delegations would help improve bilateral commerce.

He noted that the current transportation time for goods from Pakistan to Turkey via sea route was one month. He discussed the train service Turkey wished to initiate, which would run from Istanbul to Islamabad, reducing the transportation time to 10 days. However, the service seems difficult to manage.

Meanwhile, the consul general lauded the Turkish airlines for expanding their operations in Pakistan. Pakistan and Turkey have a significant bilateral trade volume, with the balance of $84.15 million in Pakistan’s favour during financial year 2014-15.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 27^th,  2015.

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