Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Wednesday said the government was focusing on trade and economic diplomacy to get better market access abroad and was vigorously pursuing signing of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with a number of countries to get level playing field for its products.
Chairing a meeting on Wednesday evening to review the implementation of trade policy initiatives, the Prime Minister said signing of Free Trade Agreement with China was a significant development which would give a boost to our exports to China.
Shaukat said exports were a major mechanism to drive the economy, earn foreign exchange and generate employment and the government was focusing on value addition and increasing productivity and competitiveness of our products to get better market access. He reviewed various incentives given by the government to increase exports and said the Ministry of Commerce should have an aggressive marketing policy and strategy.
The ministry should prioritise building brands and need assessment of the potential clients. It should adopt an industry focused and geography focused approach and should work to leverage the qualitative edge of our products, he added.
The Prime Minister said the liberalised economic policy of the government had increased competitiveness of our products and enabled our exports to grow.
He said Pakistan had a unique advantage in textiles, leather, engineering and agricultural products which should be promoted across the globe. He reviewed transition of Export Promotion Bureau into Trade Development Authority of Pakistan and said the TDAP should be run on professional lines and it should have a focused approach to diversify and increase exports. The authority should explore new markets and identify new products for export. It should focus on trade facilitation, Shaukat added.
The Minister for Commerce explained various initiatives taken by his ministry to increase exports. The Prime Minister appreciated Ministry of Commerce for their initiatives and asked them to redouble their efforts to increase and diversify exports.
The meeting was attended among others by Federal Minister for Commerce Humayum Akhtar Khan, Chief Executive TDAP Tariq Ikram and senior officials.