Trade with Australia to be enhanced: Minister for Commerce Syed Naveed Qamar 

ISLAMABAD: The Minister for Commerce, Syed Naveed Qamar, has emphasized the importance of maximizing bilateral trade with Australia, as well as improving collaboration and technology transfer in the development of the food processing, dairy, and cattle industries.

The minister met with Neil Hawkins, the Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan, as well as Additional Secretary for Commerce Ahsan Ali Mangi and Joint Secretary Dr. Adnan Ahmed. According to Naveed Qamar, the two countries’ bilateral trade has not yet reached its full potential, and Pakistan’s exports to Australia have remained constant over time. He focused on the tariff disparity Pakistani exporters experience as a result of their “Developing Country Status” under the Australian System of Tariff Preferences (ASTP) when compared to other countries.

The Australian High Commissioner agreed minister’s point of view to enhance bilateral trade especially in the field of agriculture, textile and tourism.

The both sides also discussed the possibility of preferential market access under formal arrangements like PTA and FTA with Pakistan.