Federal Tax Ombudsman’s Coordinator Meher Kashif Younis on Thursday said Pakistan has huge potential to enhance its volume of trade with the Association of South East Asian Nation (ASEAN).
Talking to a delegation of industrialists and traders led by Mian Zeeshan Elahi, he said today the trade volume of ASEAN countries has exceeded $3.3 trillion, which is likely to improve further in the near future, he said adding that Pakistan’s trade volume with ASEAN countries is $11 billion, which is much less than its current potential.
He said China is already working closely with ASEAN neighbors to resolve problems and improve the efficiency of trading, particularly with the development of the digital economy.
He said the practical application of this cooperative approach is also seen in the framework provided by the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership(RECP) agreement which unites the region in the world’s largest trade agreement.
He said business leaders and institutions are looking to further strengthen their regional cooperation and develop business opportunities brought by the RECP agreement. He said an essential part of the long term success of the RECP is to nurture new drivers of growth such as digital economy and low carbon development.
He said the digital economy can only reach its full potential if there is a common agreement of digital standards and protocols. He said there is a vast scope in diversified sectors for Pakistan to increase its volume of trade with ASEAN who are committed lending full collective strength to recover from the Covid-19 and recent flood devastation that badly affected fragile economy.
