ISLAMABAD, Sep 23 (DNA): Chakkrid Krachaiwong, Ambassador of Thailand
said that his country is ready to finalize a free trade agreement with
Pakistan as negotiations on it have reached the final stage and it is
now up to Pakistan to expedite it.
He revealed that Thai Air is resuming its flights from Karachi, Lahore,
and Islamabad. He said that many Pakistanis visit Thailand and stressed
that they should also play a role to increase bilateral trade between
the two countries. He said that both countries should focus on promoting
bilateral investment to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes.
He said that the Pakistani business community should display its
products in Thailand Industrial Fair 2024 in January next year, which
would help them to improve their business prospects. He said that many
Thai investors want to invest in Pakistan, but they don’t know where to
invest.
He identified seafood, mangoes, the halal food and halal cosmetics as
potential areas for two-way trade. He expressed these views during an
interaction with the business community at Islamabad Chamber of Commerce
& Industry (ICCI). Ms. Kamolwan Siriposil, Thai Economic Counsellor and
Deputy Head of Mission, Khemathat Archawathamrong, Thai Counsellor and
also accompanied him on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Ahsan Zafar Bakhtawari, President, Islamabad
Chamber of Commerce & Industry said that ICCI would take up the issue of
FTA with relevant Pakistani authorities for swift progress on it as it
would help increase bilateral trade between Pakistan and Thailand. He
said that Thailand’s annual exports in 2022 were over US$ 285 billion
and imports were around US$300 billion, but its bilateral trade with
Pakistan in 2022-23 was less than US$ 1 billion.
He said that both countries are doing trade in limited items and
stressed that they should diversify trade to achieve better results. He
said that Pakistan can export many other products to Thailand including
value-added textiles, leather goods, sports items, pharmaceuticals,
surgical instruments and food products. Similarly, Pakistan can import
more products from Thailand.
Ahsan Bakhtawari said that the government has established a Special
Investment Facilitation Council to facilitate new investments in
defense, agriculture, minerals, IT & Telecom, energy and other sectors
and stressed that the Thai investors should take advantage of these
opportunities in Pakistan.
He said that tourism sector is another promising area of mutual
cooperation as Pakistan’s rich cultural heritage and diverse landscapes
offer great attractions to Thai tourists. He said that learning from
Thailand’s successful tourism industry, Pakistan can also develop its
tourism sector along modern lines.
