Pakistan and Japan FTA study by November end
Pakistan Daily | Wednesday, 23 July 2008
Pakistan and Japan Free Trade Agreement by November end
A Joint Study Group (JSG) of Pakistan and Japan considering the feasibility of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Islamabad and Tokyo would submit its draft report to the two governments by the end of November 2008.
"FTA is one of the agenda items... we will include it in our report but we have not concluded anything yet in this regard," Chairman Pakistan Japan Business Forum (PJBF) Abdul Kader Jaffer told the newsmen after the second JSG meeting held here between the PJBF and a 27-member Japanese delegation on Tuesday.
He said the JSG would prepare the Draft Report, which would include a "meaningful" roadmap on increasing Japanese investment in Pakistan and exports from Islamabad to Tokyo, by the end of October 2008. A final report, he said, would be prepared in the third JSG meeting in November 2008 and would be submitted to the two governments.
"Pakistan is a country that we have to focus and support and work together as there is tremendous potential for foreign as well as domestic investments. We are of the opinion that there would be major development in the country and also that there is a sprit of great respect for the Pakistanis among the Japanese people and government," Jaffer quoted the Japanese delegation as saying.
The Japanese delegation led by Makoto Kakebayashi comprised the members from private sector and government affiliated agencies and diplomats including the Japanese Consul General Akinori Wada.
The Pakistani side, which was headed by PJBF Chairman Abdul Kader Jaffer, consisted of members of the Forum and top professors and researchers from Institute of Business Administration, Karachi.
During the two days’ discussion, the Japanese team urged the need for keeping Pakistan’s macro economic policies on the right track and in accordance with new changes in the world economy, he said.
He said the Japanese businessmen had also stressed upon the need for strategic target policies on specific industries such as automotive and agriculture, the importance of primary and higher education, good infrastructure and the importance of technical and human resource assistance.
The Japanese side had also complained of electricity shortage their native companies were facing in Pakistan, Jaffer said. The Pakistani side, he said, had made presentations on agriculture and education condition in the country with a special emphasis on further Japanese involvement in technical training, skills development programs and its investment in manufacturing, social infrastructure and energy sectors.
"We also informed the meeting that there was a tremendous scope in auto parts, marble, gems and jewellery, food processing, fisheries, coal mining and energy," he added. The Japanese delegates had urged Islamabad to improve local business environment through improved electricity, infrastructure and law and order situation.
Pakistani agriculture legacy was older than that of India and should therefore be a source of revitalisation for the country’s economy, said the Japanese delegates. On the occasion head of Japanese delegation, Makoto Kakebayashi, said: "The meeting is a good opportunity to stimulate and inspire each other. There is no need to negotiate but instead to have frank discussions so that everyone is a winner. The common goals should be emphasised as the numerous beneficiaries would naturally be the Pakistan and its people."
The PJBF chief, highlighting the need for more Tokyo backed education and training related programs in Pakistan, advised his Japanese counterparts to make the proposed 2500-acre Japanese industrial enclave a success story.
The JSG was set up during the 4th Joint Dialogue held in Karachi and Islamabad between PJBF and Japan Pakistan Business Co-operation Committee (JPBCC) in 2007 to interact with each other to achieve Vision 2030 as prepared by the government of Pakistan.
