Sri Lankan Consul General G.L Gnanatheva has said that the imposition of regulatory duties (RDs) by Pakistani authorities have terribly affected his country's exports to Pakistan. "Although there is a good potential to improve trade ties yet our exporters are reluctant to take any initiative and we cannot convince them due to uncertain trade policies in Pakistan," he said, speaking at a meeting of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI).
Gnanatheva said that Sri Lankan exporters are not interested in enhancing trade and exploring the Pakistani markets because of overnight imposition of RDs. He stressed that Pakistan and Sri Lanka would have to make collective efforts to improve the existing trade volume by exploring more trade opportunities and defining a clear roadmap for growth in trade, investment and exports.
"Sri Lanka was the first country to sign a Free Trade Agreement with Pakistan in 2005 and it was the most successful FTA in which many benefits were granted to business communities of the two countries. However, it has been observed that most of the benefits under this FTA largely remain unutilised by both sides, he said, emphasising the need to organise either a daylong or a half-day forum in which the business communities of Pakistan and Sri Lanka avail perfect opportunity to identify the obstacles and trading potential that exists between the two countries besides getting familiarised with the untapped benefits under FTA and also seek ways on how to further improve the FTA in order to make it more vibrant.
Gnanatheva called for greater cooperation between the two countries in different sectors through enhanced government-to-government and people-to-people contacts. "The business communities of both countries should step up efforts to realise all potential areas of business cooperation," he urged
KCCI president Junaid Esmail Makda said that the Karachi Chamber has opposed the imposition of RD on many essential items as it was not a wise move but as Pakistan's foreign reserves were depleting, the government had to impose RDs in order to stay afloat. "Hopefully, situation will improve as soon as the foreign exchange reserves and the economy stabilise.
Makda assured that KCCI would take up Sri Lanka's concerns over the imposition of RD with the federal government so that the issue could be amicably resolved in such a manner that it creates a win-win situation for both the countries.
Referring to economic relations between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, he said, both countries share cordial and healthy bilateral relations based on cooperation in different economic spheres.
"During 2017, goods worth $348.90 million were exported to Sri Lanka against $304.13 million in 2016, depicting an increase of 14.7 percent while the imports stood at $103.4 million, registering a growth of 34.8 percent as compared to $76.69 million in the preceding year," he noted. He further said that although some improvement was being witnessed yet the overall trade volume remained too low as compared to the potential which required collective efforts from both sides.
KCCI president suggested that businessmen and investors would have to look for opportunities in the agriculture, textile, tourism, real estate, energy and IT sectors which were attractive investment sectors in both countries. "There is a need to boost air and maritime linkages between both countries so that cooperation in business and industry could be strengthened," he said, stressing the need to promote business, mutual understanding and friendly relations between the business communities of Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Makda suggested the signing of MoUs with peer Chambers in Sri Lanka and frequently exchanging business delegations to explore more avenues for enhancing trade and investment cooperation.
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