KARACHI: Consul General of Indonesia Totok Prianamto has said that due to corona virus outbreak deliberation on Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Pakistan and Indonesia have been halted, it is expected that discussions on the FTA would continue soon.
Speaking at a meeting of Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI), he said that business interactions have been directly affected by pandemic, we are expecting that visa issuance would continue soon.
He acknowledged that despite difficult global economic situation due to Covid-19 pandemic economic and business environment in Pakistan is getting better.
The CG informed KATI that to improve the bilateral trade with Pakistan, zero tariff facility have been provided for Pakistani products under a trade agreement.
The Indonesian envoy said that to promote mutual progress and growth, we are offering zero tariff for 20 items to Pakistan under a deliberation, part of a trade agreement between both countries finalised previous year.
President KATI Saleem-uz-Zaman said that cordial relations between the two countries is a national asset for us.
He said that fruits, leather and other traditional exports to Indonesia can be enhanced more while there is need to explore some new arenas for more stronger relations between the two countries.
Head of KATI’s Standing Committee on Diplomatic affairs Masood Naqi said that Pakistan and Indonesia share a deep cultural and social bond however, there is need to expend the bilateral trade between brotherly countries.
He underscored the need of comprehensive strategy to strengthen trade and business relations and for sharing effective suggestion to meet the task of mutual growth.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020