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| Sunday, 28 November 2004 |
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SAARC special body formed to enhance trade Islamabad-Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan on Tuesday said SAARC Commerce Ministers have decided to form a special committee for enhancing trade and economic cooperation among the member countries. He said it is also agreed to evolve a common strategy to confront challenges of poverty, backwardness, illiteracy and hunger being faced by the people in the region. He stated this in a press conference jointly addressed by SAARC Commerce Ministers here at the conclusion of 4th Meeting of SAARC Commerce Ministers. He said " We are quite satisfied over the discussions and outcome of the meeting as it will determine new ways of cooperation among the member states". The Commerce Minister said we are also satisfied over the progress on Framework Agreement on Free Trade (SAFTA). He said all meetings were held in time and progressed well to realize the required goals. He said "We also looked at other issues including trade facilities, tariff, taxation and custom issues to accelerate the pace of cooperation". "We have decided to make requests to the permanent representatives at Geneva to cooperate with each other at the World forum" he added. The Commerce Minister of Bangladesh said " We are very happy and working very hard for success of SAARC as it was the brainchild of former president Zia ur Rehman". He said SAARC should concentrate on mutual discussions for mutual benefit for its people. The Indian Commerce Minister said SAFTA is very important for enhancing trade in the region. He said a study group has been formulated by Pakistan and India to explore opportunities for further strengthening of cooperation between the two countries. He said the people of the region were facing problems of un-employment and poverty and these can be tackled by enhancing mutual cooperation in all fields. Indian Minister expressed the hope that SAFTA will be finalized within next 15 months and it would provide a strong platform to accelerate economic activities in the South Asian region. He said India and Pakistan had trade volume of $200 billion which comprised $175 billion of India while Pakistan has only $25 billion. He said improvement in relations among South Asia countries would help increase India's trade in the region. Meanwhile, the 4th meeting of SAARC Commerce Ministers emphasized the need to complete negotiations on the four outstanding issues including sensitive lists, technical assistance to the Least Developed Contracting States, Rules of Origin and Mechanism for Compensation of Revenue Loss for the Least Developed Contracting States by May next year. The meeting also emphasized the need to conclude the negotiations on the four Draft Agreements in the field of trade facilitation so that these could be signed during the forthcoming Thirteenth SAARC Summit scheduled to be held in Dhaka on January 9-11. Besides considering Draft Agreement on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Customs Matters the SAARC Commerce Ministers also deliberated upon Draft Agreement on Promotion and Protection of Investments. It also discussed Draft Agreement on Establishment of SAARC Arbitration Council and SAARC Arbitration Rules and considered Draft Limited Multilateral Tax Treaty/Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation. The Commerce Ministers emphasized the need to enter into regional mutual recognition arrangement/agreement in standards, testing facilities and conformity assessment procedures on a priority basis in view of the entry into force of SAFTA on January 1, 2006; It noted the importance of the SAARC Trade Fairs in showcasing the business potential of the region and in promoting the networking of the South Asian business community and welcomed the holding of the Sixth SAARC Trade Fair scheduled to be held in New Delhi on 6-10 January 2005 and it highlighted the important role being played by the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry in promoting trade and economic cooperation in the region. It further agreed that a Meeting of the SAARC Commerce Ministers may be held in advance of the Sixth WTO Ministerial Conference to be held in Hong Kong on Dec 13-18, 2005. Permanent Representatives of the SAARC Member States at WTO will also accompany the Commerce Ministers. The Member States were represented at the Meeting by Humayun Akhtar Khan, Minister of Commerce of Pakistan. Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Altaf Hossain Chowdhury, MP, Minister for Commerce of Bangladesh, Mr. Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce and Industry of India, Mr. Ishwar Pokharel, Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies of Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka were represented by Dasho Karma Dorjee, Secretary, Ministry of Trade and Industry and Mr. S. Wirithimulla, Secretary, Ministry of Trade, Commerce and Consumer Affairs respectively.-(Courtesy Pakistan Observer) |
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