Mercosur keen to sign free trade agreement with Pakistan
Asia Pulse | Friday March 9, 2007
Mercosur Keen To Sign Free Trade Agreement With Pakistan
ISLAMABAD, March 9 Asia Pulse — Mercosur, a regional group of four Latin American countries, has expressed its willingness to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with Pakistan. Mercosur, comprising Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil, is an emerging trading bloc, which is also known as Southern Common market in Latin America.
Delivering a lecture here on Wednesday at the Institute of Strategic Studies (ISS) on "Argentina and the Latin American region", Chairman of Foreign Affairs Committee of the Argentine Chamber of deputies Dr Jorge M Arguelio said South American countries saw Pakistan as a ’gateway to East Asia.’ Therefore, Argentina, the second largest Mercosur nation, along with its other member countries wanted to have free trade agreement with Pakistan, he added. He recalled the visit of President General Pervez Musharraf to Buenos Aires in December 2004 during which both countries had shown interest in improving relations in economic and trade sectors.
He noted that an agreement already in place between the two countries on enhancing trade and economic ties would bolster mutually beneficial cooperation for the well being of the people of two nations. Dr Arguelio, who is heading a parliamentary delegation, dwelt at length on the changes, which took place during last two decade in South America including in Argentina.
"Argentina has come a long way following the political and economic crises at the advent of new century," he told the audience, saying now his country’s economy was stabilising with an average growth of 9 percent. Mercosur countries are looking to promote their regional grouping on the patron of European Union, he pointed out.
In his welcome address, Chairman ISS and former foreign secretary Inamul Haq said Latin American region had long been ignored here in Pakistan.
"We neglected Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela and other countries in the region at our own cost." However, Haq expressed his satisfaction that now Pakistan had realised the vitality of forging closer ties in economic and other fields with the Latin America.
(PPI)
