KARACHI: Pakistan has signed and ratified the TIR convention of Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) but the success of TIR convention depends on visa sticker and white card schemes of ECO.
This was stated by Senior Vice President FPCCI, S. Khalid Tawab in a meeting with the Consul General of Turkey who visited Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) here.
The FPCCI Vice Presidents Arshad Farooq and Zulfiqar Ali Sheikh, Chairman, Pakistan-Turkey Business Council of FPCCI Capt. (Retd) Abdul Rashid Abro, Acting Secretary General Mehar Alam Khan and Director General FPCCI and Economic Advisor to ECO-CCI Dr. Ayub Mehar also attended the meeting.
S. Khalid Tawab said that the visa sticker scheme and white card scheme like functioning in South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region was need of the hour to make successful implementation of TIR convention in ECO region.
He said the bilateral trade between Pakistan and Turkey should further be improved and strengthened and highlighted the service sector and fisheries to explore and expand the bilateral trade.
He also pointed out that Pakistan had already opened commercial bank branches in Turkey for the facilitation of private sector both in Turkey and Pakistan as well. Turkish bank in Pakistan was awaited for enhancement of bilateral trade activities.
Capt. (Retd) Abdul Rashid Abro, Chairman, Pakistan-Turkey Business Council of FPCCI, who also the convener of specialized committee on transportation of ECO-CCI (Pakistan Chapter), informed that both schemes had been proposed and were under consideration in the concerned quarters of ECO region.
The ECO-CCI Secretariat in Pakistan was pursuing the matter with them and it would also be discussed in the forthcoming executive committee meeting of ECO-CCI scheduled to be held in the month of August at Tehran this year.
Turkish Consul General Murat Mustafa Onart said Pakistan and Turkey were the founding members of Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) which was the extended form of RCD two decades back.
He said that both countries were playing active and pivotal role in development of trade and economic activities in ECO region.
He said Turkey was supporting Pakistan in ECO platform. ECO was most active in promotion of economic cooperation and enhancement of intra regional trade and it is now moving from ECOTA towards Free Trade Agreement (FTA) which would certainly increase the trade activities in ECO region.
Turkish Consul General said that Pakistan and Turkey were also the members of D-8 and the Chairmanship of D-8 would be shifted to Turkey next year.
He assured that Turkey would continue to support Pakistan on D-8 Forum.
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