ISLAMABAD: A preferential trade agreement is expected to be signed between Pakistan and Indonesia in the first quarter of 2011 which will give much-needed impetus to bilateral relations, said Pakistan Ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and Indonesia, Sanaullah.
He said this while delivering a lecture on “Pakistan-Indonesia Economic Cooperation” at the National University in Jakarta, a press release said on Wednesday.
Once the agreement comes into force, it would take bilateral trade to around $2 billion within two years, said Sanaullah. Replying to questions from students and faculty, the ambassador said that foreign investment was well protected in Pakistan. “In fact, Pakistan and Indonesia had agreements on protection of investment as well as avoidance of double taxation which formed the basis of a cordial investment atmosphere,” he added.
To a question about enhancing cooperation, Sanaullah said during Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s visit to Indonesia the two sides agreed on a roadmap, adding a senior parliamentary delegation of Indonesia would soon leave for Pakistan with the objective of exploring business opportunities.
He invited Indonesian businessmen and companies to make investments in Pakistan and identified agriculture as an important sector for enhancing economic cooperation. Besides, he said, Pakistan could offer fruits, cotton yarn, cement and sugar manufacturing plants and their parts, the areas where Indonesia was lagging behind.
He also mentioned steel, steel products and surgical instruments as possible items which could be imported from Pakistan while Pakistan would look for import of palm oil and quality furniture, besides other products.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 23rd, 2010.
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