Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan will arrive at Beijing on Monday on a four-day official visit to China. He is scheduled to represent the country at the two-day ministerial meeting of World Trade Organisation (WTO) to be held in the Chinese City of Dalian on July 12. The meeting will be attended by the delegates from 35 countries, including India, Bangladesh, Japan, United States, Canada, Australia, Thailand, Egypt and China.
The participants will exchange views on the new round of the WTO free trade talks, a Chinese senior official said here on Saturday in an interview with APP.
He hoped the meeting would reach common ground, projecting their economic interests under the WTO.
The Economic Ministers'' Meeting was also an opportunity to discuss the current world economy and the efforts by the respective countries, promoting fair and equitable trade opportunities, he added.
Humayun Akhtar will also address Pak-China business forum in Shanghai on July 14. It aimed at promoting trade relations between the two countries said Pakistan ambassador in Beijing Salman Bashir. The two sides have bright prospect to deepen their trade ties under the Early Harvest programme (EHP), signed by the two countries during the visit of Premier Wen Jiabao to Pakistan.
The programme, a part of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) will come into force from January 2006, reducing tariff on certain items. Under the EHP, duties are brought to zero-rate on the bilaterally agreed items. The common list for elimination of duty includes vegetables, oranges, mangoes, dates, marble and other types of stones on reciprocal basis.