Islamabad (TDI): Pakistan is poised to take advantage of vast avenues ahead to approach the SCO markets as the low trade with Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan witness huge, future trade, and potential.
Pakistan’s bilateral trade with Central Asian countries has been on the rise due to several contemporary determinants, including growing regional economic ties led by China, as well as the increasing demand for Pakistani products in Central Asia, an article published in Dawn’s The Business and Finance Weekly said.
Pakistan and Kazakhstan total trade volume is $1 billion while its trade with Kyrgyzstan hit $200 million. Pakistan’s trade volume with Tajikistan and Uzbekistan has reached about $100m and $500m, respectively.
While their trade volume has not yet reached its full potential, there is significant room for growth in various sectors, the article analyzed.
It added, the country has potential in areas of energy, gas, agriculture (rice, wheat, pulses, fruits, and vegetables), and defense equipment.
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Russia taking special interest in Pakistan to participate in highway construction, modern railway development, steel mills, and energy infrastructure projects.
Cooperation in higher education and R and D, with is growing rapidly and now the two countries are keen to explore avenues of trade.
The article highlighted key challenges between both countries are tariff and non-tariff barriers, lack of market knowledge, and delays in visas and restrictions. These issues are already under discussions between the two countries.
Yet, Pakistan’s bilateral trade with India and Iran have been a complex issue due to domestic and international strategic, political, and geographical factors, but several persistent efforts have been in place to improve the political and trade relations with both countries, the article noted.
So far, China is a major investor in Pakistan’s infrastructure projects under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) with an estimated $60bn.
The two countries are working to promote industrial collaboration, with Chinese companies investing in textiles, pharmaceuticals, and electronics.
Pakistan also exports agricultural produce to China. Even with China Pakistan trade has not reached to its full potential.
The article identified that high tariffs, quotas, and other non-tariff barriers hinder the multilateral trade liberalization process of goods and services among the SCO countries.
Pakistan’s eagerness for trade and businesses in the region and its motivation for economic stability is in line with the opportunities and the SCO desires for promoting stability among the regional countries.
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The article said that efforts at the SCO level are afoot and it has already implemented various economic integration initiatives, such as the Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS) and the SCO Interbank Cooperation Association (SIBCA), to facilitate trade and investment.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) region is one of the largest, with a population of 3.5 billion people (40 per cent of the world population), more than $30 trillion GDP (30pc of world GDP) and $2.5tr of trade worldwide.
