ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The federal minister for finance Ishaq Dar said on Saturday that the member countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) should provide meaningful market access and level playing field for Pakistan’s exports.
In a meeting held in Islamabad on Saturday to review trade-related issues with the SAARC member countries, the finance minister said that Pakistan is ready to extend trade and investment relations with all the regional countries on reciprocal basis.
The finance minister said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has a vision for peaceful neighbourhood and an enabling environment for economic development of the region.
Ishaq Dar said that Pakistan would provide all necessary facilities to the SAARC nations and expects a matching response from them.
The minister said that all the pros and cons of regional trade will be evaluated to accrue maximum benefits in Pakistan’s exports within the region. He gave a roadmap to the commerce ministry to move ahead on regional cooperation.
The federal minister for commerce Khurram Dastgir informed the meeting that he would represent Pakistan in the South Asia Free Trade Agreement meeting to be held in Bhutan next week.
The foreign secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry gave an overview of the political dimensions in the regional context and suggested ways and means to move ahead on enhancing trade and investment relations within the SAARC countries.
Chaudhry also briefed the participants of the meeting on latest political developments in the region and their impact on mutual and bilateral relations among the SAARC countries.
