Commerce Minister Khurram
Dastgir Khan. PHOTO: PPI/FILE
Briefly talking to the media in Peshawar after addressing a meeting of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KPCCI), he said, "We deferred this due to elections in India because we did not want to favour a single political party.”
Dastagir insisted that this programme has not been shelved.
He said the present government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, will promote export and trade relations with regional countries, as it economies should not be confined in the 21st century.
“We will develop trade corridors with Afghanistan, central Asian republics, India, Iran and China,” he said, adding that the economies of China, India and Malaysia grew at a faster pace in the last 20 years.
Dastagir said the government firmly believes in the revival of the economy and maintained that regional cooperation is important for the economic future of the country.
In response to a question, Dastagir said the problems and difficulties being faced by the traders in K-P will be addressed on a priority basis. The problems related to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), the ministry of finance and other ministries will be taken up with the respective ministries and departments.
By resolving the energy crises and extremism, Dastagir said, will automatically revive 50 per cent of industrial units in the country.
“The grant of the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) status to Pakistan is also a big achievment of the prime minister. It will allow almost 20 per cent of Pakistani exports to enter the European Union (EU) market at zero tariff and 70 per cent at preferential rates,” he explained.
COMMENTS (9)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
What a joke Pakistan is. It has to fool its people the NDMA is not MFN, In reality it is. India is in no hurry and should only sign this trade agreement as MFN.
To all the Indians commentators on here in a huff, the NDMA is indeed a major advance in the bilateral relationship of Pakistan and India. The minister's choice of words was poor, but it makes total sense for Pakistan to want to negotiate and sign such a deal with the incoming Indian government. A major deal right in the beginning of the tenures of the Nawaz and the next Indian governments could be instrumental to building trust and generating momentum for an actively cooperative relationship over the next few years. Signing a major trade deal with a lame, outgoing Manmohan Singh government can hardly result in any serious bilateral dividends.
What a joke Pakistan is. It has to fool its people the NDMA is not MFN, In reality it is. India, in no hurry, should only sign this trade agreement as MFN.
What a confused mind , you should not be bothered about the fact that your actions might help some political party in India but about what is good for Pakistan.
It hardly matters whether you give it or not. For majority of you we remain a "Dushman Mulk".