Pakistan expects FTA with M’sia to be finalised by year end
Bernama, Malaysia
Pakistan Expects FTA With M’sia To Be Finalised By Year End
9 August 2006
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 9 (Bernama) — Pakistan expects the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Malaysia to be finalised by the end of the year, said Pakistan High Commission commercial counsellor, Shahzad Hussain Rana.
"We have already done six negotiations and the seventh one will be held from Sept 4 to 6 this year in Islamabad," he told reporters at a business meeting for a Pakistani trade delegation organised by The Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM), here Wednesday.
Shahzad said that the FTA implementation would benefit both Pakistan and Malaysia with easier market access for products such as textiles, chemicals and machinery.
As a prelude to the FTA, both parties have implemented the Early Harvest Programme (EHP) beginning Jan 1, 2006.
The EHP covers a total of 114 products from Pakistan (covering yam, clothing and textile products and jewellery) and 125 products from Malaysia (covering electrical appliances and machinery, plastics products, chemical products and rubber and timber products).
Last year, Malaysia exported RM2.8 billion worth of goods to Pakistan and imported RM214.2 million worth of goods.
