FTA under negotiation between Turkey and Pakistan

Free Trade Agreement between the two countries Turkey and Pakistan is under-negotiation. Trade will jump once FTA is finalized. Pakistan especially Lahore is an investment hub for the Turkish investors. Turkish Ambassador Mustafa Yurdukal said that friendly and cordial relations between Turkey and Pakistan should be translated into trade and economic ties.

Ambassador Mustafa Yurkukal speaking at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry on Wednesday said that the Ambassador agreed with the LCCI President that that the volume of bilateral trade between both countries is $497 million only which is very low. It should be increased through joint efforts and close contacts between the businessmen of the two countries.

The LCCI President Malik Tahir Javaid said that Pakistan’s exports to Turkey are constantly decreasing since 2011 when it reached US $756 million. In 2016, the value of total exports to Turkey reached down to $237 million. As far as imports from Turkey to Pakistan are concerned, these have been ranging between $160 million to $260 million from the year 2011 to 2016. Hence the total volume of bilateral trade is around $497 million in 2016.

Former President LCCI Shahid Hassan Sheikh stressed the need for reducing taxes on garments and carpets. Pakistan mainly exports cotton, articles of apparel and clothing (knitted and non-knitted), other made up textile articles etc., to Turkey.

This FTA can potentially help them in increasing the bilateral trade to $4 billion from the current level of $497 million. To achieve this objective, elimination in tariffs along with the concerns regarding non-tariff barriers need to be addressed in the FTA. With the implementation of FTA, both countries will come closer to each other and will open a new horizon in economic and commercial ties