Pakistan-Indonesia negotiate trade, goods agreement: envoy

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Indonesia trade and goods agreement is being negotiated and is likely to be implemented soon for increased trade activities, a diplomat said.

Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) already exists between the two countries and the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is also being reviewed, Indonesian Ambassador to Pakistan Adam Mulawarman Tugio said this, while addressing the consultative seminar for the promotion of bilateral tourism with the local tourist agents and journalists.

The Indonesian envoy said that this is the century of Asian region in which the next Southeast Asia, Pacific Asia, Central Asia and China will play an important role in the global economy and trade.

Pakistan-Indonesia economic cooperation could open new avenues for cooperation between South Asian and Association of East Asian Nations (ASEANs) countries, he said.

The Ambassador said that emerging economies like Pakistan could, on the one hand, link global trade with Central Asian countries, and on the other hand, its geographical link with western China could be beneficial to Indonesia and ASEAN countries.

He said that Pakistan and Indonesia have historical religious, political, diplomatic and economic ties, which can be used to further strengthen economic and trade ties between the two countries.

Indonesia emerged as the only economy of $1 trillion in Asean and Islamic world and both of the countries have great potential for cooperation in all fields including tourism, trade, e-commerce and defence.

He said that cooperation in the tourism sector on both sides could introduce new dimensions in the promotion of mutual tourism.

The ambassador said the two countries could lay a new foundation for relations by promoting cooperation in the tourism and services sector.

Tugio said that Pakistan and Indonesia are among the most beautiful countries in the world and with the promotion of tourism, mutual economic activities would reach its peak.

He said that the huge market of ASEAN countries with a population of 650 million has huge economic opportunities for Pakistan. which are being discussed in both the countries.

He said that Indonesia is a diverse society, where all religions and cultures are respected. There are many Buddhist places of worship in Pakistan too.

In addition, Pakistan, an emerging country in the field of information, local youth have a lot of expertise in this field.

With online connections and boost in Information Technology (IT), young people from both the countries benefit from each other’s experiences and skills to promote economic and cultural integration.

Tugio said that global retail e-commerce sales in 2020 stood at $4.28 trillion, which is expected to reach $5.4 trillion by 2022.

The ambassador said that Pakistan and Indonesia are countries with large youth populations that can make their mark in the global e-commerce trade and create vast employment opportunities in both the countries.

Indonesia has set a $50 billion e-commerce trade target by 2025 to connect with the biggest sector of global trade.

The ambassador said that Pakistan and Indonesia can be linked with e-commerce trade to increase bilateral trade as well as connect both sides’ youth in connection of business and trade.

Responding to a question about Indonesia’s rapid economic growth and economic reforms, he said Indonesia was the first to work on Ease of Doing Business (EODB) and business facilitation, which encouraged foreign investors.

A number of achievements had been gained following the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business (EODB) targets and then there was the devolution of power in Indonesia for strengthening of the local body system, which led to a strong federation, he said.

Meanwhile, speaking at the event, head of the Economic Section of Indonesian embassy, Sharif Shahabuddin said that Indonesia has 17,000 islands and 350 languages are spoken in Indonesia.

Indonesia has Bali and other beautiful islands, which are the center of world tourism.

He said that there are many attractive opportunities for people going to Indonesia for tourism from Pakistan.

All tourism facilities in Indonesia including cheap hotel accommodation are affordable and suitable for foreign tourists, he said.

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