‘No support for policy that hurts country’

Dastgir underlines importance of agriculture sector at WTO meeting

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has made it clear to the international community that it would not support any policy that hurts the country’s agriculture sector, said Federal Minister for Commerce Khurram Dastgir at the World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting.

Speaking at the 110th WTO Ministerial Conference that started on December 15 in Nairobi, Kenya, Dastgir said the agriculture sector was of enormous value to Pakistan.

“This value just cannot be measured in ‘dollar’ terms. It is the very foundation of our society and a matter of national survival and security for 200 million people.”

The ongoing conference is a high-profile meet-up in which ministers from member countries participate.

The Minister for Commerce attended three back-to-back meetings of G-33, G-20 and Cairns Group - the three biggest and most influential interest groups in agriculture.

Dastgir reiterated his stance on food security and said it was unjust that some countries were trying to ensure their own food security at the cost of others. “Heavy subsidisation on the part of developed countries and misuse of some provision of ‘Agreement on Agriculture’ is already hurting the agriculture sector of small economies like Pakistan,” noted Dastgir.

The commerce minister also participated in a Ministerial Panel on ‘Trade Facilitation Agreement’ organised by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Pakistan has recently ratified the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), which was widely appreciated by the member countries. “TFA could act as an external stimulus to tackle public sector inefficiencies systematically,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 16^th, 2015.

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