Bilateral trade volumes to witness significant growth: Turkiye envoy

LAHORE: The Ambassador of Turkiye, Irfan Neziroglu, has expressed optimism that the trade volume between Pakistan and Turkiye will witness significant growth in the near future. He was addressing a meeting at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

LCCI President Mian Abuzar Shad and Senior Vice President Engineer Khalid Usman also spoke while Executive Committee members Irfan Ahmad Qureshi and Syed Salman Ali were present at the occasion.

The Turkish Ambassador emphasized the strong brotherly relations between Pakistan and Turkiye, underscoring the need for these ties to be reflected in mutual trade and economic partnerships. He highlighted key potential sectors for collaboration, including education, textiles, leather and pharmaceuticals.

He stressed the importance of joint ventures, business-to-business (B2B) interactions and sector-specific meetings between both countries. He further added that technology transfer and regular exchange of trade delegations would be crucial in exploring untapped potential. Additionally, he suggested that both countries should organize single-country exhibitions to showcase and promote their local products effectively.

LCCI President Mian Abuzar Shad reaffirmed the Chamber’s commitment to fostering trade relations with international partners. He stated that as the largest and oldest chamber in Pakistan, LCCI actively engages with foreign missions to maximize mutual economic benefits.

He also noted that Turkiye and Pakistan, being key members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), enjoy strong diplomatic ties that have strengthened over the years in various fields, including economic, political, defense and cultural sectors.

“Both countries signed a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) in 2022. We are confident that this agreement will open new avenues for trade expansion across multiple sectors. Turkiye has granted Pakistan easy market access on nearly 261 tariff lines, which we must fully utilize,” said Mian Abuzar Shad.

Under the PTA, Pakistan has gained market access in sectors such as leather, rice, dates, mangoes, cutlery, sports goods, seafood, processed agricultural products, rubber tubes, tyres, plastics and engineering goods.

He emphasized that it is the responsibility of all Pakistani Chambers of Commerce to engage their members in leveraging these opportunities. Citing trade figures from the State Bank of Pakistan, he revealed that Pakistan’s exports to Turkiye increased from $323 million in 2022-23 to $335 million in 2023-24, while imports from Turkiye rose from $478 million to over $491 million during the same period.

Between July and January of the current fiscal year, Pakistan’s exports to Turkiye amounted to $177 million, whereas imports stood at $344 million. He expressed optimism that the positive trend in trade growth would continue.

Furthermore, the global exports of Turkiye surpassed $260 billion, while total imports exceeded $344 billion in 2024. LCCI urged the Turkish envoy to play an active role in increasing Pakistan’s share in Turkiye’s total trade volume.

LCCI Senior Vice President Engineer Khalid Usman highlighted that Pakistan’s exports to Turkiye are predominantly textiles, whereas imports mainly consist of machinery, iron & steel, chemicals and plastic items. He emphasized the need to bridge the trade deficit and elevate trade volume to at least $5 billion.

Additionally, he shared LCCI’s keen interest in forming a joint venture with a prominent Turkish company to establish a factory in Lahore for the production of industrial ice blocks.

He sought the Turkish Ambassador’s assistance in facilitating this collaboration and making this initiative a success.

The meeting concluded on a positive note, with both parties expressing their commitment to strengthening bilateral trade relations through sustained efforts and enhanced economic cooperation.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025