Bilateral meeting: Indonesian CG highlights success in ties with Pakistan

Says both countries have ratified PTA to enhance trade.


APP April 06, 2015
Under the PTA, Indonesia has agreed to offer market access to Pakistan on 216 tariff lines on preferential rates DESIGN: SAMAD SIDDIQUI

HYDERABAD: The Indonesian Consul General (CG) Hadi Santoso has said bilateral trade with Pakistan has surged by 300% in the last 4 years, and that efforts are being made to increase it further by maximising its potential.

“We want cooperation that favours both sides”, he said, while delivering a lecture at a seminar here at the University of Sindh, in Jamshoro on Monday.

He informed that trade between Pakistan and Indonesia in 2010 was $700 million, rising to $1.6 billion in 2013 and it currently stands at over $2.2 billion. Santoso said that he was making efforts to increase exports of goods from Pakistan to bring balance in trade between both countries. Describing Pakistan as the second largest economy in the region and one of the emerging markets in the world, the diplomat observed that Karachi enjoyed a strategic importance, being the gateway to traffic commodities to and from Pakistan as well as neighbouring countries and Central Asia.



The CG said Pakistan and Indonesia were gifted with tremendous resources and there was a great potential for cooperation in the trade sector. “What we need is to utilise our potential. A foundation for achieving that goal is already in process,” he said. “More delegations should be exchanged by the two countries and exhibitions should be organised that promote culture and trade.”

Santoso said that despite security being an issue in Karachi, in reality, it was not as bad as depicted by the media – both local and foreign. “Indonesia is the biggest archipelago in the world, and Pakistani tourists visit Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore more than Indonesia,” he said.

“The number of foreign tourists to Indonesia has been increasing over the last three years and the Indonesian government targets more than 8 million foreign tourists every year,” he added.

Santoso said Pakistan and Indonesia had ratified a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) to boost trade and investment relations between the two countries. “Both sides have agreed to provide market access by granting tariff concessions and removing non-tariff barriers to help both countries develop economic and trade relations to their true potential,” he added.

“Going beyond bilateral gains, we believe that strong relation between Indonesia and Pakistan allows both to benefit from overall market optimism of the Asian region,” he added.

Under the PTA, Indonesia has agreed to offer market access to Pakistan on 216 tariff lines on preferential rates while Pakistan has reciprocated with 287 tariff lines, adding that Indonesia had also offered market access to oranges from Pakistan at zero tariff. 

Published in The Express Tribune, April 7th,  2015.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.

COMMENTS (1)

Woz Ahmed | 8 years ago | Reply Great news. Would be interested in the balance of trade between us and the areas of growth, if anyone knows ?
Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ