EAD Organizes Workshop On CAREC-FTA

Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) in collaboration with the Economic Affairs Division and Ministry of Commerce on Monday organized a national workshop on CAREC Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in order to discuss ways and means to further enhance trade among the member countries

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Mar, 2023 ):Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) in collaboration with the Economic Affairs Division and Ministry of Commerce on Monday organized a national workshop on CAREC Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in order to discuss ways and means to further enhance trade among the member countries.

The main objective of the workshop was to create national consensus in CAREC developing member countries, the governments of which have expressed the strongest interest to prepare and pursue negotiations towards an eventual CAREC-wide FTA.

The workshop was inaugurated by Dr Kazim Niaz, Secretary, EAD and Mr Yong Ye, Country Director, Asian Development Bank, said a press release issued here on Monday.

Speaking on the occasion, Secretary EAD said that the workshop would enable us to understand the subject at a deeper level including the awareness among a broad range of interested stakeholders, leading to developing a consensus among the strangest interest to prepare and pursue negotiations towards an eventual CAREC-wide FTA.

The workshop also aims to raise awareness among a broad range of interested stakeholders for the CAREC-FTA and potential benefits for the whole CAREC region, he said adding that it initiated a broad-based and inclusive public discussion on the topic and target a wide range of stakeholders.

Pakistan's new trade policy is focused on addressing investment gaps in key economic sectors to create an export surplus, improved market access, and rationalization of tariffs besides suggesting measures to raise the export of services to improve export competitiveness and diversify markets and products, he added.

The second part of the workshop was related to the training of mid-level government officers, and its objective was to raise awareness among policymakers on the potential benefits of the CAREC-wide FTA. The training activity enhanced the capacity building of the trade officers by providing a brief overview of both the substantive and procedural or organizational strategic aspects of preparing for and successfully completing trade negotiations.