Islamabad; 17 Sep 2021 – H.E. Adam Mulawarman Tugio said that ASEAN was a huge market for Pakistan and emphasized that business community can focus on promoting trade and exports with it to achieve lucrative outcomes for the economy.
He expressed these views while interacting with the business community during his visit to Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI).
He said that China has bilateral trade of around USD 600 billion with ASEAN, but Pakistan’s bilateral trade with it was just USD 6 billion, which was not encouraging.
He said that Pakistan’s close cooperation with Indonesia would provide it easy access to the immense untapped market of ASEAN countries. He said that Pakistan and Indonesia have many similarities, which should be harnessed for gaining mutual economic benefits.
He said that Pakistan and Indonesia needed to promote bilateral trade cooperation in areas in which they have comparative advantage. He highlighted IT, e-commerce and tourism as promising areas for bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
The Indonesian envoy said that Pakistani universities should develop study papers on the economic potential of ASEAN region to educate their students and business community that would be helpful in improving bilateral trade as well.
He stressed the need of promoting JVs between private sectors of both countries besides encouraging students’ exchanges and organizing trade fairs on reciprocal basis.
He further said that Pakistan and Indonesia should work on promoting home grown technologies and industries. He said that Indonesia was organizing a virtual expo due to Covid-19 pandemic and the business community should join it to develop business linkages with Indonesian counterparts.
Sardar Yasir Ilyas Khan, President, (ICCI) said that trade volume between Indonesia and Pakistan was $2.5 billion, which was not reflective of their actual potential. He also highlighted many potential areas of mutual cooperation between Pakistan and Indonesia that would be beneficial for the economies of both countries.
Islamabad; 17 Sep 2021 – H.E. Adam Mulawarman Tugio said that ASEAN was a huge market for Pakistan and emphasized that business community can focus on promoting trade and exports with it to achieve lucrative outcomes for the economy.
