Businessmen Panel (BMP) Secretary General Federal Ahmad Jawad has said that Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Pakistan and Turkey can potentially increase bilateral trade and will put a great impact in the emerging geopolitical scenario.
"Pak-Turkey relations have always been good, especially given that both nations share the same broader cultural roots," he said, talking to Business Recorder.
The BMP official said that high-level delegations from various countries have been visiting Pakistan to renew their relations with the new government. However, Turkey and Azerbaijan are the only countries that openly support the stance of Pakistan on the occupied Kashmir while Turkey is of the opinion that the dispute can only be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy and not through use of force, he noted.
"Turkey has internationally recognised good reputation and is among the countries that made economic development within a short span of time," he said.
Jawad said that the economies of both the countries would see improvement due to Free Trade Agreement although there is a trade imbalance between Pakistan and Turkey right now. He hailed Turkish Foreign Minister over condemning the human rights violation in held-Kashmir by Indian forces.
"It is a good gesture. Turkey is a respectable country in the Muslim world and Pakistan can take maximum advantage of its relations with the former," he suggested.
The BMP leader expressed hope that new Economic Framework Agreement and FTA would increase trade activities increasing the bilateral trade volume to $2 billion that currently stands at merely $650 million that doesn't reflect the close relations between both countries and the opportunities therein. He cited that seven rounds of negotiations have taken place till 2018 wherein both countries agreed to reduce customs and regulatory duties by 85 percent but the agreement could not be completed yet.
"Turkey is comparatively small country with a population of 80 million people but its GDP is ranked 7th globally with $858 billion in 2016 while Pakistan ranked 40th with GDP of $284 billion despite huge population of 210 million people," he said.
Jawad emphasised that the D-8 and ECO's Chamber of Commerce should be further used for improving regional coordination and business relations between Pakistan, Iran and Turkey with a practical proposal.
"In fact, emerging geopolitical scenarios and economic crises have brought the two countries even closer to each other," he said. It is expected that close cooperation between the two nations through the FTA will be fruitful ensuring peace, stability and development not only for Pakistan and Turkey but also for the region and the world, the BMP leader asserted.