Pakistan diversifies trade in line with global shift
PHOTO: FILE
Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) Malik Raza Rabbani Khar has said that trade diversification is crucial for economic stability and growth of the country in the present scenario.
Inaugurating the second Engineering and Healthcare Show at Expo Centre on Thursday, Khar said the focus of international trade was shifting towards diversification and Pakistan was also following the global trade scenario by diversifying its trade in terms of products and markets.
“Pakistan exported goods and services worth $38 billion in 2021-22, but it has a lot more potential,” he stressed. “We can supply more engineering goods, electrical appliances, pharmaceutical products, sports goods, surgical instruments, cosmetics, furniture, agricultural machinery, auto parts, tractors and many other products.”
SAPM said that it was the government’s vision to double trade in the next few years. “We need to accelerate export diversification as well as product sophistication and make our trade more inclusive for the purpose,” he added.
The PM aide highlighted that it would enable the country to shift from overdependence on basic commodities to higher value-added products and services, while building resilience to changes in demand.
“It is the fastest path towards economic growth, job creation and poverty reduction,” he stressed.
Khar said that the exhibition had provided a unique opportunity for investors and international buyers to communicate with Pakistani companies and explore lucrative opportunities such as joint ventures with local firms.
He underlined that the exhibition was aimed at bringing together businessmen from non-traditional markets under one roof to explore and open up new frontiers for enhancing trade.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 24th, 2023.
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