Pakistan Needs To Boost Trade With Neighbours For Economic Growth: Speakers

ISLAMABAD, Dec 7 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Dec, 2022 ) :Speakers on Wednesday said that Pakistan was one of the most important country in the world due to its geographical position, but unfortunately, Pakistan had not un-fold new economic avenues with neighboring countries which needed to be explored for economic growth.

Experts made the remarks while speaking at the discussion session titled "75 Years of Independence: Achieving Comprehensive National Security" organized by the Institute of Strategic Studies, Islamabad (ISSI).

During his keynote address, Ambassador Mansoor Ahmad Khan highlighted the importance of examining Pakistan's economic frontiers and said Pakistan missed several opportunities during the last few decades and the trade potential between Pakistan and Afghanistan remained un-realised.

"Both countries have not been able to manage the fundamentals of their economic interaction and simple basic issues remain unaddressed. Economic interaction between Pakistan and Afghanistan has to be a fundamental part of the bilateral relationship," he emphasized.

This can be rectified if Pakistan and Afghanistan interconnected infrastructure and address basic economic fundamentals, he said.

Former Afghan Ambassador to Pakistan Dr. Omar Zakhilwal, speaking on the sub theme Pakistan's Economic outreach to Afghanistan,' said that there was a lot of potential for economic cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan, which was necessary for the prosperity and well-being of the people of both the countries.

He said trade, transit and economic relations between the two countries were treated as secondary. In Pakistan, economic outreach to Afghanistan was treated as a one-sided favor, whereas economic interactions with Pakistan, in Afghanistan viewed as a dependency. This is why economic activities were only limited to bilateral trade, which over the past ten years had significantly declined.

He concluded by saying that unless economics comes to the forefront of bilateral relations, it would not only benefit our economies but also help the bilateral relationship, durable peace and stability.

Former Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Pakistan Dr Ali Awadh Asseri, while presenting on "Enhancing Pakistan's Economic Outreach to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) said that KSA and Pakistan had a unique, profound, durable relationship which includes collaboration in the political, security, economic and cultural spheres of bilateral cooperation.

"Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 offers a vast array of opportunities for Pakistan's skill force, particularly in the IT, tourism and financial sectors," he said.

In this regard, the Pakistan embassy in Riyadh should consider setting up a labor attach�, who will be responsible for identifying areas where occupational skills are needed, for workers coming into KSA, he added.

Ambassador of Ethiopia to Pakistan Jemel Beker Abdula, said that Pakistan was an important player in international peace and prosperity and it played a significant role throughout history.

He said that gone are the days when Africa was labelled as poor, underdeveloped, and ravaged by terrorism and civil war but now things have changed and Africa is an emerging continent with a number of economic opportunities and rightly labelled as the "Land of Opportunities".

He stated that there had been a remarkable improvement in the governance and political systems of African countries over the past few years.

He appreciated the Government of Pakistan for the timely initiative of the 'Engage Africa' Policy in order to explore the mutual economic interest within the Continent.

He went on to say that under the 'Engage Africa' Policy Pakistan should establish institutional linkages to boost bilateral, multilateral and regional cooperation for strengthening political, economic, security and cultural ties.

Ethiopia was a very important country in the continent and it has a key role in shaping the political, socioeconomic and regional integration of the entire continent due to its significant Geo-strategic location.

He said that it is imperative for Pakistan to strengthen its ties with Ethiopia which was a gateway to the entire continent.