Pakistan, Sri Lanka hold 13th JEC

Review trade progress, agree on new sectoral working groups

COLOMBO:

Pakistan and Sri Lanka agreed to expand cooperation in trade, agriculture, technology and maritime connectivity during the 13th session of the Joint Economic Commission held in Colombo on Wednesday.

According to an official statement, the Sri Lankan delegation was led by Minister for Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe, while the Pakistani side was headed by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Industries and Production Haroon Akhtar Khan. The two sides signed the Agreed Minutes at the conclusion of the session. In the digital economy, both countries agreed in principle to establish a joint working group on information technology and telecommunications, cooperate in emerging technologies and support each other in international digital and telecom forums.

On industrial cooperation, the discussions covered expanding bilateral trade in chemicals, polymers, engineering goods, glassware, surgical instruments and pharmaceuticals. Sri Lanka invited Pakistani pharmaceutical firms to explore investment opportunities in designated manufacturing zones. Both sides also agreed to enhance collaboration in export processing zones and strengthen cooperation in the small and medium enterprise sector through their respective development agencies.

Progress was reported in agriculture and livestock cooperation, with agreements covering meat exports, livestock farming, seed certification, sanitary and phytosanitary harmonisation, pest risk analysis and capacity building.