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Advisor to the Prime Minister of Trade and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood says Pakistan’s trade with African countries reached $ 4.18 billion in 2019-20, which was up seven percent compared to the previous year (2018 -19).
As a result of Pakistan’s new engagement with African countries through the “Look Africa Campaign” initiated by the Pakistani government, despite the Covid-19 pandemic, exports to Africa increased by seven percent in 2019 -20 from $ 1.38 billion in 2018-19 to the US $ 1.48 billion in 2019-20, the adviser said in an interview.
The Adviser said that total trade with Africa has increased from US $ 3.19 billion in 2016-17 to US $ 4.18 billion in 2019-20.
In response to a query on increasing trade with African countries, he said that Pakistan’s trade with Africa has remained stagnant at $ 3 billion per year for the past few years, but due to the government’s trade policies with Africa, now multilateral trade with the African region crossed the mark. of one billion US dollars.
He added that the main reason for the low trade volume was Pakistan’s low level of engagement with Africa.
Razak Dawood said that traditionally rice has been our main export to Kenya and other African countries.
However, “we are planning to enhance exports of pharmaceuticals, surgical products and light engineering and electronic products, including agricultural tractors and implements, two- and three-wheelers, commercial and household fans, water pumps and electrical machinery and equipment, etc. . “. He said that these products have a lot of potential to connect with the untapped African market.
Responding to a question, he said in the framework of the “Look Africa Policy” of the Ministry of Commerce, “We are taking different initiatives, including six new Commercial Sections that have been opened in Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Senegal, Sudan and Tanzania. , in addition to four existing Commercial Sections in Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa, to cover the ten main economies of Africa ”.
He reported that “Look Africa Trade Forums” have been organized in major cities in Pakistan to raise awareness among Pakistani business community about the potential of African markets. He added that the establishment of bilateral ties with the main African countries was under way.
Razak Dawood said that a Joint Working Group with Egypt and a Joint Trade Committee with Kenya have been established, while the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been shared with several African countries.
He said the government also prioritized increasing greater participation in trade fairs in Africa in the future to improve economic and trade integration with these countries. He reported that for the first time, Pakistan was expected to participate in the Khartoum International Fair in January 2021.
He said the Ministry of Commerce also hosted the Pakistan Africa Trade Development Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, on January 30 and 31, 2020.
The President of Kenya opened the Conference; in which 246 African delegates from 26 African countries participated.
The adviser said that 115 delegates, including 85 Pakistani companies, also participated in the Conference and that 1,883 B2B meetings were held during the Conference between Pakistani and African businessmen.
While questioning Pakistan’s plan to utilize the potential markets of Kenya and Tanzania, he said that exports to Kenya increased from US $ 265.1 million in 2018-19 to US $ 289.3 million in 2019-20, registering an increase of nine percent to despite Covid-19 pandemic.
He said that our decision to host the Look Africa Business Development Conference in Kenya and the inauguration of the Conference by the President of Kenya signify the strength of the bilateral trade relations between the two countries.
It reported that Pakistan’s total trade with Tanzania reached $ 194.58 million in 2019-20, compared to $ 136.52 million in 2018-19, making Tanzania an important trading partner.
The Trade Ministry has recently opened a new Trade and Investment in Dar-es-Salaam, which is expected to be operational soon, he said.
Razak Dawood said a month ago in November, a four-member business delegation from Tanzania visited Pakistan after decades.
The delegation was led by the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of the President of Tanzania.
These bilateral exchanges were expected to improve trade between the two countries.
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