Minister of Commerce Ruhsar Pekcan spoke at the opening of the Pakistan General Virtual Trade Delegation organization, which was held via video conference under the coordination of the Ministry of Commerce and the organization of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM).
Reminding that they went to Islamabad in February with many business people and held a Business Forum under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Minister Pekcan said that today, a virtual bridge will be established between Turkish and Pakistani business people, and that this virtual bridge will lead to the development and strengthening of new commercial and economic relations. He said they believe it will happen.
Reminding that they have held Virtual General Trade Delegations with Uzbekistan, Kenya, India and Nigeria since April, Pekcan said that they held the said organization with Pakistan today and will continue with Germany, Colombia and Mexico.
Ruhsar Pekcan stated that, apart from these, they have also implemented sectoral trade delegations together with TİM in Uzbekistan, Kenya, Paraguay, Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Uruguay, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Peru, Colombia, China, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman. He said that they are carrying out virtual trade delegation programs for .
Stating that they also held two virtual fairs, Shoe-dex and Agrivurtual fairs, Pekcan said, “The feedback we received from you about the virtual delegations and fairs shows that we have achieved very successful and effective results and that they were productive. Virtual delegations and fairs also provide advantages to our business people in terms of both time and cost.” “In addition to making business connections, it also helps to increase the awareness of the products by importers in the relevant country and to create suitable marketing conditions.” he said.
“We are determined to make a Free Trade Agreement with Pakistan”
Minister Pekcan underlined that they held intensive bilateral meetings with many countries during this period and said, “Beyond being a friendly and brotherly country, Pakistan is a very important trade partner of Turkey. Its trade volume of 850 million dollars does not reflect the potential of both countries. This will happen as soon as possible.” “It should exceed $1 billion.” he said.
Providing information about the meetings they held with their Pakistani counterparts in February, Pekcan said, “We are determined to make a Free Trade Agreement with Pakistan. But we will continue on our way by excluding some sectors that are the locomotives and sensitive points of the economies of both countries. We have made our decision in this direction and related to them.” “We continue our work.” he said.
Ruhsar Pekcan pointed out that there is a trade deficit only in textiles and ready-made clothing in trade with Pakistan and said:
“Machinery, air conditioners, regulators, generators and other technical products, electrical-electronics, construction materials and equipment and medical products pose great potential for our country’s exporters. In order to increase our bilateral trade and economic relations with Pakistan, the Strategic Economic Framework Document was issued at the summit in February. We signed the Action Plan. In line with this Action Plan, we determined cooperation issues under many headings such as Trade, Investment, Industrial Cooperation, Finance, Health, Transportation, Communication, Tourism, Energy and Technology, and our technical teams mutually agreed on these issues. Apart from these, we are also working on mutual increase in investments. Turkey’s major companies have large-scale investments in Pakistan. They provide employment for approximately 3,500 people in these investments. We support the coming together of these mutual investments in sectors that will produce more technology and added value. .”
On the other hand, Pekcan pointed out that the project costs undertaken by Turkish contracting companies in the world have exceeded 400 billion dollars, and said that they believe that the volume of contracting projects in Pakistan, which has been only 3.5 billion dollars so far, will increase further in the coming days.
Minister Pekcan stated that, as the Ministry, they stand behind the business world and that Eximbank and the Asian Investment and Development Bank are important sources of financing for the business people of the two countries.
Pekcan said, “We continue our work to remove all obstacles to our business people, facilitate the flow of trade and investment, and introduce our simplified customs line practices.” he said.
