Pakistani business community would get benefits from Duty Free Access (DFA) for more than 7,200 products in European Union and Indian markets through Sri Lanka, said Sri Lankan High Commissioner, Air Chief Marshal Jayalath Weerakkody.
Addressing a seminar on business opportunities with Sri Lanka under Free Trade Agreements (FTA), he said that Sri Lanka is regional trading hub and had excellent business environment and infrastructure alongwith free trade zones and best ports in South Asia. The textile industrialists should take benefit of it by starting their business operation.
In 1983 Sri Lankan economy had the highest economic growth rate in South Asia and its economy was badly hit due to long internal war situation, but now at present the country has come out of war situation and it is best place for business activities, he added. He urged the members of Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI) to form a trade delegation and to visit Sri Lanka to meet their Business counterparts.
Earlier, in his welcome address, President, FCCI, Mian Hamid Javed said the FTA was signed in July 2002 and was made operational on June 12, 2005 since the implementation of FTA, Pakistan has become the major trading partner of Sri Lanka in the South Asia. The total trade between the two countries increased from Rs 16 billion in 2005 to Rs 30 billion in 2008.
Sri Lanka's exports to Pakistan also increased from Rs 4 billion in 2005 to Rs 8 billion in 2008, recording a 100 percent growth in rupees terms during the four year period under FTA. The major items being exported to Sri Lanka are textiles, pharmaceuticals, machinery and agricultural items and the products imported from Sri Lanka are tea, copra, rubber. He hoped that the Seminar would be beneficial for the business community of Faisalabad.
V S Sidath Kumar Sri Lankan Counsel General gave the presentation on business opportunities with Sri Lanka under Free Trade Agreement (FTA). He said that Pakistan and Sri Lankan business community should take benefit of FTA. The Director General, TDAP, Karachi Mir Nasir Abbas, Director General, TDAP Lahore Agha Zafar Mehdi Shah and a large number of representatives of business community of Faisalabad were present in the seminar. The seminar was jointly organised by FCCI and Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) at FCCI auditorium.