Pakistan-China: ‘FTA to be signed by mid-March’
Second phase to begin next month
A Pakistan national flag flies alongside a Chinese national flag in front of the portrait of Chairman Mao Zedong on Beijing's Tiananmen Square. PHOTO: REUTERS
ISLAMABAD:
The second phase of the free trade agreement (FTA) between Pakistan and China would be signed by mid-March to increase bilateral trade, a senior commerce ministry official told APP on Wednesday. During the next month, a Chinese vice minister will visit Islamabad along with a high level delegation for signing the amended FTA between Pakistan and China, the official stated. He said that after intense negotiations with the Pakistani delegation led by Federal Secretary for Commerce Younus Dagha, the Chinese side agreed to accommodate Pakistan’s demands in the Pak-China FTA. Replying to a question, he said the negotiations started in 2012 to finalise the revised version, adding that the Chinese side also agreed on electronic data exchange which would help reduce under invoicing, a major concern of Pakistani industry.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 22nd, 2018.
The second phase of the free trade agreement (FTA) between Pakistan and China would be signed by mid-March to increase bilateral trade, a senior commerce ministry official told APP on Wednesday. During the next month, a Chinese vice minister will visit Islamabad along with a high level delegation for signing the amended FTA between Pakistan and China, the official stated. He said that after intense negotiations with the Pakistani delegation led by Federal Secretary for Commerce Younus Dagha, the Chinese side agreed to accommodate Pakistan’s demands in the Pak-China FTA. Replying to a question, he said the negotiations started in 2012 to finalise the revised version, adding that the Chinese side also agreed on electronic data exchange which would help reduce under invoicing, a major concern of Pakistani industry.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 22nd, 2018.