Pakistan Single Country Exhibition from Jan. 11

The High Commissioner for Pakistan Shahzad A. Choudary today formally will launch the Pakistan Single Country Exhibition from Jan. 11-13, at the BMICH.

Briefing the local media on Pakistan-Sri Lanka trade relations and economic development in Pakistan, he said," For the last six decades, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have consistently maintained close, cordial and mutually supportive relations. The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in 2005 was a turning point. It was the first FTA that Pakistan signed with any country and reflects the unanimity of views between Islamabad and Colombo on political, economic, regional and global issues".

"Complemented by Free Trade Agreement, the extraordinary efforts made by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) and the Pakistan High Commission in Colombo have boosted the volume of Pakistan's exports to Sri Lanka from US Dollars 97 million in 2003-04 to US Dollars 200 million in 2006-07; doubling the figures within three years. During this period Sri Lanka's exports to Pakistan have also seen an encouraging upward trend.

The Pakistan Single Country Exhibition 2008, where around 100 leading Pakistani companies are participating from over 25 sectors, reciprocates the strong interest shown by the Sri Lankan business community in the Pakistani market.

The major objective of the Exhibition is to diversify the existing patterns of our bilateral trade. While the FTA has already generated the needed interest on both sides, the exhibition on one hand aims to introduce new products while on the other it hopes to establish trade links between new commercial regions in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.