Pakistan, Egypt looking to do ‘much more trade’ than present — Razak Dawood

ISLAMABAD: The volume of bilateral trade between Pakistan and Egypt at over $242 million in fiscal year 2018-­19 was not in proportion with both countries’ trade potential and would be improved, adviser to the Prime Minister for Commerce, Abdul Razak Dawood, said on Wednesday.
“We (Pakistan and Egypt) are two very large Muslim countries so we should be doing much more trade and we will do it,” Dawood told Arab News, and added: “I want to go there (Egypt) myself in the next few months because the volume of trade between the two countries is not good enough and we will improve our trade.”
Pakistan’s top exports to Egypt include denim fabrics, medicaments and polythene, Dawood said.
“We are looking to improve exports in the area where we have better products. We are much better in leather products and sports goods so we would like to increase the export of these products to Egypt,” he continued.
On the other hand, Pakistan’s top import products from Egypt included sanitary towels, reception apparatus and medical equipment like needles, catheters, and cannulas, he said.
“They (Egypt) are good in some agricultural products so we would like to increase import of agricultural products to boost our agriculture sector,” Dawood added.
Earlier this month, the minister in charge said in the National Assembly that trade relations between Pakistan and Egypt had been growing at a steady pace for the last five years and that Pakistan’s exports to Egypt amounted to over $90 million with imports at over $151 million in FY 2018-19.
The minister further told the house that the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) had taken initiatives to invite reverse trade delegations to Pakistan by assessing the needs of the Egyptian market. This is done by inviting trade delegations from Egypt to EXPO Pakistan 2015 and 2016. The TDAP again plans to invite them again for EXPO Pakistan 2020.
The ministry of commerce is opening a Commercial Section in Cairo and five other Countries in Africa, Dawood told the house, with increased facilitation within the private sector to enhance bilateral trade engagements and the exports of Pakistan.
In October, a high-level delegation of officials and businessmen from Egypt, led by First Undersecretary of the Egyptian Commercial Service, Ahmed Anter, visited Islamabad to attend a trade conference organized by Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce and Textile.
Pakistan’s commerce ministry and Egypt’s Commercial Service signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the establishment of the Pakistan-Egypt Joint Working Group (JWG) on trade. The first meeting of the JWG was held on the sidelines of a trade conference last month.
On Wednesday, the latest data released by the State Bank of Pakistan showed Pakistan’s government had succeeded in bringing down its current account deficit-- and posted a surplus for the first time in four years. Earlier this year, the country was forced to avail its 13th bailout package from the International Monetary Fund.