HYDERABAD: Consul General of Malaysia in Karachi, Herman Hardynata Bain Ahmad has said that around 10,000 Pakistani products were included in free trade agreement whereas Malaysia has 6000 products.
He was addressing members of Hyderabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI) on Saturday.
He said that a visit of Malaysian traders and businessmen would visit Hyderabad soon. He informed that although 45 memorandum of understanding (MoU) were signed between Pakistani and Malaysia but in absence of governmental level agreements Pakistani students have limited academic opportunities in Malaysia.
He said that his government was offering scholarships to postgraduate ad PhD students. He added that various parts of Pakistan have immense tourism potential and have ideal opportunities there. He was surprised to note that despite having rich coastline in Karachi required attention was given to it for tourism purposes.
He said that he would talk to Malaysian government for increasing import of Pakistani rice. He further said that Pakistani exporters could use Malaysian ports for trade purposes for other countries as transit facility.
Earlier, HCCI President Adeel Siddiqui welcomed the guest and said that the two countries have friendly ties. He said that Hyderabad has great potential for joint ventures between Malaysia and Pakistani governments in hotel, health and education sectors. He stated Pakistani government was offering all sorts of guarantees. He added that there was big gap between Malaysian and Pakistani trade balance.
HCCI Chief said that Pakistani was importing $1bn palm oil whereas Pakistani was exporting $0.5bn goods to Malaysia. He said both the countries need to review free trade agreements so that a balance could be ensured in the bilateral trade volume. He called for increasing cooperation in education sectors between two countries. President HCCI said veggies, fruits, pulses and cotton were being exported to Malaysia.
Hissam Iqbal Baig, HCCI’s Diplomatic Affairs Sub-Committee Chairman, said that bilateral ties between countries were witnessing stability. He said that business communities of two countries could play important role in increasing trade volume. He added the two sides could earn huge foreign exchange through textile and tourism sector related investments.
The guest was informed by chamber’s members that Malaysia was importing rice worth 700,000 metric tons which is inclusive of Pakistani quota of 250,000 tones. They proposed Malaysian government could increase this import of rice from Pakistan as this would increase trade.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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