Turkey to open consulate in Lahore

Trade delegation from Ankara to arrive this month

LAHORE: Turkey would soon open its consulate in Lahore to facilitate businessmen who want to travel to Ankara for deepening trade and investment ties.

This was revealed at a meeting between a 12-member Turkish delegation and Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) President Ijaz A Mumtaz on Friday.

Sadi Yildirir said direct flights from Lahore to Istanbul would start from August 15 on a daily basis. Another Turkish delegation would visit Pakistan in the third week of August and a single-country exhibition in collaboration with the LCCI was also being planned, he said.

Yildirir pointed out that Turkish businessmen were keen to undertake joint ventures with their Pakistani counterparts in the fields of printing, security systems, building material, construction services and textiles.

“We need to make efforts to reverse the present trend of bilateral trade,” remarked LCCI President Mumtaz.

Pakistan’s exports have been dropping consistently since 2011 when they peaked at $756 million. In 2013, exports to Turkey totalled $407 million but last year the shipments came down to $391 million. Imports from Turkey have ranged between $150 million and $190 million.

“Considering the size of both the economies, these trade figures are distressing. We must find ways to push bilateral trade to at least $1 billion in the next three to four years,” he said.

The textile sector has traditionally been the biggest sector of Pakistan’s economy that engages 48% of the manufacturing labour force and accounts for 60% of exports.

“With the GSP Plus status, the need of technology improvement and capacity building in the textile sector is necessary. So any initiative from the Turkish business community to invest in Pakistan’s textile industry is highly appreciated,” said Mumtaz.

He added that Turkey was well positioned to take advantage of Pakistan’s economic potential and its geo-strategic location.

He emphasised that some kind of understanding should be developed between private-sector representatives of both the countries, which would lead to lucrative business deals for the benefit of both nations.

Mumtaz said some analysts suggested that trade volume between Turkey and Pakistan could be increased to $2 billion with joint efforts of the public and private sectors of both sides. 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 8^th,  2015.

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